Falling through Glass
by PrincessForever
Summary: The story of Alysia Karadhras, a girl who kept many secrets. Formerly All You Could Ever Want. Chapter 12 UP!! R/R
1. The Girl Who Kept Secrets

All You Wanted  
  
Note: Harry Potter and the ideas from his series are NOT MINE. They belong to J.K. Rowling, a very talented and inspiring author.  
  
Chapter One: The Girl Who Kept Secrets  
  
She stood on Platform 9 ¾, watching the other students board the Hogwart's Express. Many of them had stared at her, as she looked older than most of them, but she was not. She was, in fact, only sixteen, though her looks told her to be anywhere between eighteen and twenty-five. Not that she was trying to conceal her looks by any means. Her mother had always told her that if you are beautiful, you should accentuate that beauty, and so she did. Her long, black tresses were pulled back from her face in a high ponytail, one lock of which kept annoyingly falling out and brushing in front of her large brown eyes which were lined with long, dark lashes. Tall and willowy with honey-colored skin, the girl was amazingly beautiful. It was no small wonder that every boy boarding the train paused to look at her.  
  
"Excuse me," someone asked behind her, and she turned around to see a happily plump woman with red hair smiling at her. "Are you lost, dear?"  
  
"No, I'm quite alright, thank you. First time at a new school and all," the girl answered.  
  
"First time? You can't possibly be a First Year!" the woman cried, looking the girl up and down.  
  
"No, I'm a Sixth Year, but I just transferred here."  
  
"From where?"  
  
"I was taught at home, but then Dumbledore offered my mother a job teaching here, so naturally, I had to start learning here instead," the girl looked a bit anxious to get on the train and return to her own little world, a hesitancy which the woman noticed.  
  
"I see. Well, good luck then, dear. If you ever need someone to talk to, my son Ron is a Sixth Year as well. He's very friendly," the woman called as the girl walked towards one of the cars on the train, pushing her luggage trolley in front of her.  
  
"Thank you! I'll remember him!" the girl called back as she boarded. She found an empty compartment on the train and stored her luggage above it, with the exception of her caged owl, a snowy white bird named Socrates. He would ride with her in the compartment and keep her company, as she expected no one else would. Her expectations, however, were shattered when two boys and a girl stumbled into her compartment, just as the train started to pull out of the station.  
  
"Mind if we join you? All the other compartments are full," the girl, who had very bushy brown hair, asked politely. What could she do? Hushing Socrates, the girl made room for the others. One of the boys looked almost exactly like the woman she'd been talking to on the platform, with bright red hair and freckles. He was tall and gangling, and also smiling at her. The other boy had messy black hair and green eyes behind a pair of glasses. She recognized him immediately, but didn't say a word, lest she reveal anything too important about herself.  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger," the girl introduced herself. "And these are Ron Weasley and," she paused, "Harry Potter."  
  
"Oh. Hello." The girl stopped there, then sensed she was probably being rude and went on. "My name's Alysia Karadhras."  
  
"Are you a First Year?" Ron asked, seeming confused. Alysia shook her head.  
  
"No. My mum taught me at home, so I'm a Sixth Year," she explained, hoping they would not ask why she was taught at home.  
  
"Why are you here now?" Hermione seemed confused.  
  
"My mother's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She's a pretty good teacher, I guess. You'll like her, once you meet her," Alysia promised, some of her shyness ebbing. Being friends with and talking to Harry Potter and his friends could not possibly be as dangerous as she'd thought. In fact, it would probably be better if Harry knew some of her secrets, though not yet.  
  
Harry now spoke up. "We've had five Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, and we've been here for five years. They always end up leaving, for one reason or another," he sighed. "Lupin was the best. Our third year."  
  
Lupin. Alysia knew this man well. She smiled at the mention of his name. "Remus Lupin?" she asked, making sure it was the same man she was thinking of.  
  
"Yes! Do you know him?" Hermione asked, brightly.  
  
"Yes. My. . ." Alysia paused, correcting herself before she gave too much away, "my mother went to school with him and your parents, Harry."  
  
"Sirius Black, too?" Ron asked, loudly. Alysia felt as if she'd just been hit with a ton of bricks.  
  
"Sirius Black, too," she answered, softly, not offering any more information and praying her new friends would not ask her to elaborate, when suddenly, someone appeared in the doorway. He was a pale boy, with white blonde hair and icy blue eyes. His face was pointed, almost like a ferret's face, but it made him look cute. Behind him stood what appeared to be two bodyguards, hulking boys with dark hair and nasty expressions. Alysia stared in disbelief.  
  
"Well, well, well, it's Potty Potter, a Weasel and a bushy little Squirrel. And what's this! A new. . ." the boy trailed off as he recognized her, "friend."  
  
"It is you then! The boy I met skiing in the Alps! I don't think I ever caught your name," Alysia greeted him, knowing him from several skiing trips with her mother.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," he answered in an odd tone. Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed either confused or disgusted at this new turn of events, and Malfoy's goons looked completely lost. Perhaps they were waiting for him to give the order to punch someone or break something. In any case, Alysia and Draco were the only ones still in touch with what was happening in the compartment.  
  
"I don't think I ever gave you my name, either. I'm Alysia Karadhras." Alysia reached out her hand for Draco to shake, which he surprised everyone by kissing.  
  
"A pleasure, Miss Karadhras," he murmured in a more gentlemanly tone than anyone else in the compartment had ever heard him use. "I didn't know you went to Hogwart's. Why haven't I seen you here before?"  
  
"I haven't been here before. My mother taught me at home," she explained. "She's here now, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, so I get to be here, too, meeting some interesting new people."  
  
"Interesting my arse," Ron muttered under his breath, receiving a sharp kick from Hermione in retaliation. Draco had heard it, however, and shot a fierce look at Ron, before turning his charming smile back on Alysia.  
  
"I'll see you in the banquet hall, then. I do hope you're in Slytherin with us. Crabbe! Goyle! Let's go." And with that, Draco Malfoy and his goons departed, leaving all but one person in the compartment confused, to say the least.  
  
"First of all, you do not want to be in Slytherin!" Ron exclaimed as if being in Slytherin was an unforgivable curse. "There's not a witch or wizard who's gone bad that hasn't been in Slytherin."  
  
"Don't worry about me, Ron. My. . .mother was in Gryffindor, and I have no doubt that I will be, too. Is Draco always that insulting to you?" Alysia leaned back against her seat, comfortably.  
  
"Let me think. . .yes," Ron replied, nodding definitely, then called Draco a word that made Hermione cry out, "Ron!" in disgust.  
  
"Any particular reason?" Alysia asked.  
  
"Well, he doesn't like me because I'm Muggle-born. He and his family think that Muggle-born witches and wizards are somehow less important or worse-off than 'purebloods.' He's called me a Mudblood on more than one occasion," Hermione stated, her eyes turning a bit watery as she relived what was obviously a painful recurrence.  
  
"And he doesn't like me because my family. . .well, we're not as. . .well-off, money-wise as his," Ron answered, his face turning the color of a ripe tomato and clashing beautifully with his red hair. "Just because there are nine of us to provide for. . ." He trailed off, looking embarrassed, still.  
  
"Everyone knows that your blood doesn't matter, and neither does your monetary status," Alysia said to Hermione and Ron, who both smiled in gratitude. "Why doesn't he like you, Harry?"  
  
"Guilty by association, I suppose." Harry shrugged sheepishly. "Well, that and I'm a little famous."  
  
"A little?" Ron repeated, incredulously, but Hermione kicked him again. Rubbing his shin, he finished, "Anyway, Draco's a dirty prat. Nothing but trouble, that one. I'd stay away from him, if I were you."  
  
"I'll try to remember that," Alysia thought, silently adding, But I'll also wait and form my own opinions about Mr. Malfoy.  
  
Meanwhile, Harry's owl had begun to rattle her cage noisily. She was eyeing Socrates with the utmost of interests. "Looks like she fancies him," Alysia commented, bringing a laugh from her new companions. Carefully, so not to disturb him too much, she opened the door to Socrates' cage and, with a little help from Harry, encouraged him to share Harry's owl's cage. Moments later, the two were cuddled together like old friends. Ron's owl, which largely resembled a fluffy tennis ball, started hooting excitedly, wanting to get in on the action.  
  
"Shut up, Pig!" Ron yelled at the owl, then shrugged apologetically to Alysia. "My owl. . .Pidwidgeon. He's a little excitable. And that's Hedwig who's cozying up to your owl."  
  
"Hedwig. Lovely name," Alysia murmured. "Do you have an owl too, Hermione?"  
  
"No, but I do have a cat. His name is Crookshanks," she answered, gesturing to what Alysia had believed to be a furry orange pillow. "He's been sleeping a lot. . .still recovering from our holiday in Bulgaria, I'll bet."  
  
"Visiting Krum again this summer?" Ron seemed annoyed at this.  
  
"Why not? He's a friend," Hermione replied defensively.  
  
"He's no more a 'friend' than Malfoy's 'interesting.' You fancy him!" Ron accused, and before Harry or Alysia could step in, the two started arguing at the top of their lungs, causing Pig and Crookshanks to hoot and glare, respectively, and Harry to stifle a laugh.  
  
"They really are quite perfect for each other. They just haven't admitted it out loud yet," he told Alysia in a hushed tone, and she laughed along with him. Then, Harry adopted a more serious look on his face. "So did your mom know Sirius Black? Were they friends?"  
  
Alysia suddenly became rather fidgety. "You might say that. When d'you reckon the trolley will be by? I'm starving," she answered, changing the subject a little too quickly. Harry looked at her oddly, but told her that the trolley would be along any minute, and sure enough, momentarily it arrived, and the four companions loaded up on sweets.  
  
"Now look at that, would you? Viktor Krum. . .a card in a chocolate frog!" Ron snorted indignantly, ignoring the glare he got from Hermione. Alysia, who had just taken a bite of a turkey-flavored jellybean (and spat it out again), suddenly recognized the name Viktor Krum.  
  
"The seeker from the Bulgarian Quidditch team? Have you met him as well?" she asked, reaching for another jellybean, judging by its color that it must be safe. "His family skis with my mother and I every Christmas holiday."  
  
"Another Krum fan! What is this world coming to?" Ron moaned, tossing the card across the compartment.  
  
"Oh, I'm hardly a fan. He's too competitive. But I can beat him flying any day," Alysia answered matter-of-factly, causing Harry to nearly bite his tongue.  
  
"Do you play Quidditch, too?" he asked, breathlessly.  
  
"Not formally, no. But I can. You play Seeker, right?" Alysia turned to face Harry, who seemed surprised at this knowledge she'd turned up.  
  
"Yeah. . .how'd you know?"  
  
Alysia bit her lip, trying to think of a good way to get out of this. "I. . .ah. . .you look like a Seeker. Plus you have a Firebolt above the compartment. . .I saw it when I reached up to get my money. I don't think anyone but a Seeker would have a Firebolt. I have one myself." Harry seemed to believe it, and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The train had begun to slow down, and Alysia managed to make out the outline of Hogwart's against the increasingly dark sky. She quietly moved Socrates back to his own cage (with much protest on his part), and when the train had stopped, stepped down onto the platform with Harry, Ron and Hermione. A large man with a large black beard was holding a lantern up and calling, "Firs' Years over 'ere!" Alysia started walking in the direction of the man, whom she assumed was Hagrid.  
  
"Where are you going, Alysia? You're not a First Year!" Hermione called as she and the boys started to walk towards the horseless carriages.  
  
"No, but I need to be sorted. I'll see you all in the banquet hall," Alysia answered, rushing over to the crowd of First Years, all of whom she stood about a head above. Hagrid saw her and immediately smiled.  
  
"An' you'll be Professor Karadhras' daughter, I presume," he said to Alysia. "I remember your mum when she was 'ere. Right frien'ly girl, she was. In 'Ufflepuff, right?"  
  
Alysia nodded, flinching to remember that she'd told a lie to Harry and his friends on the train. Her mother had not been in Gryffindor at all, but rather in Hufflepuff. How, then, would she explain to Harry, Hermione and Ron when the Sorting Hat placed her in Hufflepuff rather than in Gryffindor? She supposed that she would just have to spend more time with them than with the students in Hufflepuff, so it wouldn't matter so much.  
  
Crossing the lake, hardly any of the First Years did more than glance warily at Alysia, though several whispered about her. She stared down into the black water, almost seeing the giant squid and other creatures her mother had mentioned to her. The water looked frigidly cold, so she leaned back from it, yet before she'd realized it, the boats had come to shore in front of the Hogwart's castle. Her mind somewhere other than the present moment, Alysia followed the other First Years to the hallway outside of the banquet hall, which she found to be just as her mother described it. A woman with a stern expression and dark hair twisted into a tight bun under a pointed hat was looking down at them. This, Alysia knew, was Professor McGonagall. Apparently, Professor McGonagall knew Alysia by sight alone, too.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwart's, First Years, and Miss Karadhras. In a few minutes, you will enter the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be like your family. Your successes will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. Follow me." With that, she turned on her heel and led the students into the banquet hall, which was decorated in the colors of the four houses. Heads turned as Alysia walked by the tables, most of them male. She heard a few catcalls, but ignored them, searching for her new friends in the crowd. Sure enough, Harry, Ron and Hermione were smiling at her from the Gryffindor table, as was Draco from the Slytherin table. She returned their smiles, then looked at the ceiling quietly. Her mother had told her it was bewitched to look like the night sky, and to Alysia's delight, it truly was. Stars twinkled and winked above her.  
  
Facing the front of the room again, Alysia spotted the man of the hour, Albus Dumbledore. With twice as much beard as Alysia had hair, he resembled the pictures of wizards one sees in fairy tale books and Lord of the Rings calendars, pointy hat and all. He wore half-moon spectacles and was smiling down at the new students like a guru of sorts. A few seats down was Alysia's mother, Anaral Karadhras. Alysia's looks came almost completely from her mother, with the exception of her hair color. That came from her father. Her mother had ash blonde hair that was currently held back from her face with two discreet clips. Beside her mother was a man Alysia knew without introduction. Greasy black hair and hooked nose. . . must be Severus Snape! The Potions professor had spotted Alysia and was giving her a poisonous glare. Looks like he knows me already. Before she could return the look Snape was giving her, Dumbledore stood up to make his annual start-of-term announcements.  
  
"First of all, I would like to announce that we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Anaral Karadhras," there was a murmur of applause from the few who recognized her as Alysia's mother. "I would also like to announce, to First Years and anyone else who does not know, that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden. And also, a special hello to our newest Sixth Year student, Alysia Karadhras." At this Alysia heard quiet applause and muttering from all of the tables. Dumbledore sat down again, and for the first time, Alysia focused her attention on the Sorting Hat.  
  
It looked like an ordinary old hat, but she knew it was something more. Each of the founders of Hogwart's hat put a bit of him or herself into the hat, so the hat therefore determined which house each student would live in during his or her time at Hogwart's. Alysia knew she would be in Hufflepuff before the Sorting Ceremony began. She'd known it since her mother told her she would be attending Hogwart's, yet for a brief moment, she wondered what it would be like to be in Gryffindor with Harry, Ron and Hermione, or even in Slytherin with Draco and his goons. Still, Hufflepuff was her destiny, and as she half-heartedly listened to the hat's song and the first students being sorted, she knew there was nowhere else she wanted to be.  
  
Professor McGonagall's voice startled Alysia, when she called her name. Alysia could see Harry, Ron and Hermione looking at her hopefully, and Draco sitting back in his seat with a smug look on his face. She hated to disappoint them so much.  
  
"You don't have to, you know," the Hat said, as if talking directly to Alysia's brain. "You could be in either of their houses. You have the qualities for both. Ambition and courage, very noble of you. You're a difficult one to place, Miss Karadhras."  
  
"But Hufflepuff is where I belong!" Alysia thought desperately.  
  
"Perhaps for now. You may change your mind later on, and it won't be the first time. Very well, then. HUFFLEPUFF!" the Hat shouted, and the Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers. Harry, Ron and Hermione, though they looked rather confused, were also applauding, while Draco's face had gone from smug to sullen in seconds. A bit reluctantly, Alysia left the stool and walked over to the Hufflepuff table. A somewhat chubby girl with red hair immediately attached herself to Alysia's side.  
  
"Hi! I'm Susan Bones! Welcome to Hufflepuff!" she exclaimed. "I'm glad you're in my house, Alysia, we have a lot of fun here." Alysia managed to force a smile at Susan as she began her feast, but still felt an ache of longing to be sitting with Harry, Ron and Hermione or even with Draco. But this was where she belonged.  
  
After the feast had ended and Alysia was on her way up to the dormitory, Professor McGonagall stepped in front of her, blocking her way to the Hufflepuff Common Room. "Professors Dumbledore and Karadhras would like to have a word with you, Alysia," she said in a soft tone. Alysia nodded and followed Professor McGonagall to the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall looked at the gargoyle and stated, "Fizzing Whizbee!" in a loud voice. The gargoyle moved aside and Alysia walked up to Professor Dumbledore's office. Amongst the pictures of the past headmasters and headmistresses of the school, he sat at his desk, sharing lemon drops with her mother, who sat on the other side of the desk. At her mother's feet lay a large black dog, whose tail immediately started wagging when Alysia entered the room.  
  
"I don't believe it," she muttered, walking forward. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Giving her a doggy smile, the dog slowly resumed the form of Sirius Black and reached to give Alysia a hug. "I plan on being around a lot more often, Alysia, now that I have a daughter here as well as a godson," he told her. She accepted his embrace reluctantly.  
  
"You're not safe here, Daddy," she told him over his shoulder. "They'll find you and they'll. . .I don't want to know what they'll do!"  
  
"Alysia," her mother began, but Professor Dumbledore spoke up.  
  
"Alysia, you needn't worry about your father's safety while I am headmaster of this school. I am fully convinced of your father's innocence and, what's more, I will never knowingly allow Dementors within the walls of this castle. Your father is more than safe here," he promised. Alysia sighed.  
  
"Have you told Harry yet?" Sirius asked, and Alysia shook her head adamantly.  
  
"I haven't told anyone. I don't want to tell anyone. I don't want Harry and Ron and Hermione to just be my friends because of you, Dad," she stated. "It's hard enough making friends, but having to wonder whether your friends are that simply because of who your father is. . .I don't think I want to deal with that."  
  
"She'll tell them when she's ready, Sirius," Anaral said softly, and she and Sirius exchanged a loving smile.  
  
"Now, Alysia, I must admit I was a bit taken aback when you ended up in Hufflepuff," Professor Dumbledore stated. "You probably would have made quite a name for yourself in Gryffindor."  
  
"I know," Alysia answered, wishing the questions would stop. "I just. . .well, Mum was in Hufflepuff, so I always assumed that's where I would be. And. . .I also thought that if I was in Gryffindor, people might figure me out too quickly."  
  
"Alysia, you can't keep hiding from who you are!" Sirius exclaimed, taking his daughters hands in his own. "I want you to be happy and honest, just the way you were brought up to be." He looked down, suddenly uncomfortable, and Alysia could understand why. When she was only one year old, Sirius had been arrested for murdering thirteen people. He was, of course, not guilty of the crimes, but he had spent twelve years in the wizard prison of Azkaban for being an innocent man. His dark eyes still held the haunted look of a prisoner, and he was only just now beginning to return to the healthy look of his youth, with short black hair and gaunt, pale skin filling out to a healthy weight and color. It was this black hair that Alysia had inherited.  
  
"I should be going to bed," she told the adults. "Classes start tomorrow." She accepted goodnight hugs and kisses from both of her parents, then left them to discuss things with Dumbledore. Walking through the long cold halls that led to Hufflepuff house, she admitted to herself that she also did not want to answer any more questions about her inability to be honest with anyone about her family and her past. Nor did she want to keep reassuring her father that it was not his fault he hadn't been around for her entire childhood, and that she didn't blame him. She was just happy to have him back now.  
  
Her entire childhood, Alysia had been told that her father was an innocent man and that he loved her very much. That knowledge alone had been enough to help her keep loving the man who she so vaguely remembered singing her lullabies and telling her bedtime stories. When he was freed, three years prior, he had immediately sent an owl to her mother with a note attached, saying, "I'm free. I'll visit as soon as I can." Alysia remembered the happy tears at their reunion, and then realized that she was on a collision course with Severus Snape.  
  
"Oh!" she exclaimed as the two narrowly avoided running into each other. The greasy-haired Potions master sneered down at her.  
  
"Miss Karadhras, what are you doing out of bed?" he demanded.  
  
"I had a meeting with Professor Dumbledore. You may ask him about it if you wish," she answered. "He's in his office now." Immediately she prayed that her father would have the forethought to change back into his canine form at the sound of someone approaching.  
  
"And I'll assume that your. . .father was there as well?" Snape sneered. Alysia felt her face go hard with the strain of avoiding emotion. "You needn't lie to me, Miss Karadhras. I know your father will be around more than ever this year, watching you and Potter. . .his offspring. And, though it pains me not to do so, I have no plans to turn him over to the authorities."  
  
Alysia stared at Snape, unsure whether she believed him. "I'm going to bed now, Professor. Excuse me," she stated in a colorless voice, brushing past him. Moments later, she was in the girls' dormitory in Hufflepuff. Susan Bones and the other girls had many questions to ask her, but Alysia simply changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, to lie there and think about her predicament until heavy sleep closed her eyes. 


	2. Draco Malfoy, Relative Genius

Chapter Two: Draco Malfoy, Relative Genius  
  
Alysia awoke only a few hours later, before the sun had even begun to rise. Snores were coming from Susan Bones' bed, right beside hers, and across the room, someone was talking in her sleep. A soft breeze was causing the yellow curtains to billow into the room eerily. Returning to the world of sleep would be impossible, Alysia knew, so she climbed out of bed and dressed in her school robes. Pulling her long hair back in a braid, she slipped out of the dormitory and went down to the common room to write in her diary.  
  
She'd kept a diary since she was six years old. Without a father to talk to and a mother who was often busy, Alysia had few friends to whom she could talk. Rather than waiting for her mother to become un-busy or her father to be released from prison, or even for a few sporadic friends to arrive, Alysia took comfort in the pages of her diary. It was a small book, bound in red leather and filled with bewitched parchment that caused the ink to disappear if the diary was ever in the hands of someone other than Alysia. Curling her legs under her on an overstuffed chair in the Common Room, Alysia dipped her quill in ink and began to write.  
  
  
  
2 September  
  
Welcome to Hogwart's, Alysia Karadhras, daughter of convict and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It's begun, and I don't know how I feel about being here. On one hand, I'm so happy to be with other people my age that I could burst with joy, but on the other, I'm terrified that people will want to get too close to me. I'm also terrified that the wrong person will find out whom my father is and where he is, and that before I know it, he'll be right back in Azkaban. Things have been going so well, too. He and I were able to see each other nearly every day during the summer and I feel like I'm finally getting to know my father, after all these years. He can't go back there, he just can't!  
  
Harry Potter goes to this school. I've known that for a while, but I had no idea what it would be like actually meeting him. He's more than "The Boy Who Lived". He's practically my brother, though he doesn't know it. I know that once dad's name is cleared, he'll take Harry in, and maybe even adopt him legally making me the sister of Harry Potter. I'm not too impressed with how famous he is. I know what it's like to be stared at. When people at my elementary school found out who my father was, they all stared at me as if I had two heads. I hated it. I HATED it. Harry must not like being stared at either. So I don't stare.  
  
His friends seem nice. Hermione is just like my dad said, really smart and friendly, too. Whoever says that Muggle-born wizards are less than "purebloods" needs a sanity charm. Hermione's a great girl. I hope we'll be friends. And Ron is just like my dad told me, too, red hair and all. (She paused in her writing to laugh at this.) He's also very outspoken and passionate. If he was a Muggle, Ron would make a wonderful lawyer. I think he and I will be friends, even though we're in different houses.  
  
Which brings me to a problem. I told Harry, Ron and Hermione that my mother had been a Gryffindor. I didn't mean to tell such an overt lie, but I almost said something about my dad being in Gryffindor. That would have tipped them off immediately. And I know I can trust them, but I'm just not ready. I want to know that they like me for me before I let them know who my father is. I hate lying, but I can't help it. I'm just so afraid.  
  
Well, to change the topic quickly, that boy that mum and I skied with last Christmas goes to Hogwart's as well. His name is Draco Malfoy, and apparently he does not get along with Harry and his friends. I don't see why. They all seem perfectly nice to me. I'd forgotten how handsome and charming Draco was, but I suppose I'll wait and see how things turn out. He is, after all, a Malfoy. Dad and Lucius Malfoy didn't get along when they went to school here. But I'm not Dad and Draco isn't Lucius.  
  
But that's about all for now. I think I'll take a walk.  
  
  
  
Alysia closed the diary and slipped up to the dorm. Sliding the diary between the mattress and the box spring, she felt completely assured at its safety and went back downstairs. The sun was beginning to rise, but it was still hours until classes began. Alysia knew that the grounds were safe, so she decided to take a long walk in the early morning sunlight. She knew that Filch, the groundskeeper, and his cat Mrs. Norris would still be prowling the halls this early, so she made sure that her black shoes were as scuffed as possible before sneaking out through the hallways to the rolling green hills of the Hogwart's property. Silently, she walked through the dew-drenched grass until she found herself at the edge of the Dark Forest. There were centaurs in there somewhere, and unicorns as well. Granted, there were other less beautiful things there, but Alysia felt that it was worth sneaking around these creatures to find a unicorn or centaur. She began to enter the Dark Forest, and nearly shrieked when someone dropped out of a tree in front of her.  
  
"Are you mad?" he asked. "Why are you going into the Dark Forest by yourself? You could be killed!"  
  
Alysia felt a stab of relief. It was Draco. "I wanted to do a little exploring, see if I could find a unicorn or centaur," she explained simply.  
  
"You're more likely to find a werewolf or worse in there," Draco drawled. "We had a teacher who was a werewolf once."  
  
"Oh really?" Alysia pretended not to know this. "What did he teach?"  
  
"Believe it or not, he taught Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dumbledore was just showing off his idiocy in hiring that man. Remus Lupin. . .a danger to everyone when he was here," Draco bragged. "Come on, we'd better get away from the woods."  
  
Alysia followed halfheartedly, wishing her morning walk could have remained a lonely one. She'd probably be petting a unicorn by now, or having breakfast tea with the centaurs. It was a gift she had, being able to communicate with magical creatures. She and Draco were about halfway to the castle, when she suddenly realized something. "Draco, what on earth were you doing by the Dark Forest?" she asked, causing Draco to stop in his tracks.  
  
"That's none of your business," he sneered, and Alysia gave him a small smile.  
  
"Well, then it's none of your business why I'm going back," she told him, turning around and marching straight back to the forest. She heard his feet hurrying after her and grinned even wider.  
  
"But the forest is more dangerous for you!" Draco exclaimed, trying to keep his voice calm and drawling, yet he could not suppress a note of panic.  
  
"Why is it more dangerous for me than for you?" Alysia asked, turning to face him.  
  
"Well. . .because you're a girl!" he managed, and Alysia laughed.  
  
"That's the most chauvinist and stupidest thing I've ever heard," she told him. "But since you seem to be so concerned for my welfare, I won't go. Not now, at least."  
  
"Good, then!" Draco exclaimed. They continued their walk back to the castle.  
  
"So, a boy who's prejudiced against Muggles, poor people and girls: that's you. Is there anything you do like?" Alysia asked, pausing to pick a dew-laden daisy.  
  
"I am not prejudiced," Draco stated haughtily, and took the flower from Alysia's hands. "Some things are true. Some people are better-off than others. Some need more protection than others." He slid the flower into her hair behind her ear. "Some deserve more attention than others."  
  
Alysia blushed and took the flower from her hair, not wanting Professor McGonagall to yell at her for deviating from the wardrobe with a flower in her hair. "What classes do you have with Hufflepuff?" she asked Draco, twirling the flower in her thumb and forefinger.  
  
"Divination and Transfiguration, I believe," Draco answered. "I'm surprised you're in Hufflepuff. You seem more like Slytherin material to me. Ravenclaw at the very least."  
  
"Well, apparently I'm supposed to be in Hufflepuff, so we'll just have to make do, won't we?" Alysia smiled at him. "I think we have Transfiguration first, don't we?"  
  
"That we do. McGonagall's a bit strict. . .takes some getting used to. She's also the head of Gryffindor House," Draco drawled knowingly. "We're lucky to have Snape as head of our House. He's brilliant."  
  
"Oh, so you have a special place in your heart for Professor Snape? You wouldn't believe half the stuff my mother told me about him, from when they went to school together!" Alysia teased. Draco sent a sneering smile back at her.  
  
"And you wouldn't believe half the stuff my father told me about your mother when they went to school together. She was friends with Lily and James Potter, wasn't she?" he asked.  
  
"She never told me," Alysia lied, shortly. "But she told me plenty of stories about Snape. I guess she's trying to help me find amusing things to think about my teachers. Did you know that Dumbledore once had flaming red hair, like the Weasleys?"  
  
Draco snorted. "Seems to be a trait for Muggle-lovers. Did you know that McGonagall sleepwalks every time there's a full moon?"  
  
Alysia laughed. "You're full of interesting knowledge, Mr. Malfoy," she commented. "Let's go get some breakfast."  
  
They hurried back up to the banquet hall, and Alysia followed Draco to the Slytherin table. Breakfast was relatively empty this early in the morning, and those who were up were too tired to take much notice of the girl from Hufflepuff eating with the boy from Slytherin. By the time Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the hall, Draco was long gone and Alysia was enjoying a steaming cup of breakfast tea by herself at the Hufflepuff table. When the three came in, she waved, and they invited her to join them at the Gryffindor table. They were all dressed in their school robes and were going over the schedule with weary eyes.  
  
"Double Potions with the Slytherins today," Ron groaned. "How do we always end up having that the first day of classes?"  
  
"Dumb luck," Harry muttered, smiling at Alysia as she sat down. Hermione also smiled, but Ron was too busy bemoaning his current predicament to notice her. Alysia cleared her throat and Ron finally looked up and managed a smile.  
  
"'Morning, Alysia," he greeted her as she sat down.  
  
"Good morning, Gryffindors!" she sang, merrily, making them wonder where she had all this mirth and energy. "I hope you all slept well."  
  
"Ah. . .fine?" Hermione answered, as if she'd never been asked anything along those lines before. "You seem rather cheery this morning, much more than last night, at least. What did Dumbledore have to say to you?"  
  
"Oh, nothing really. My mum was up there. . .they just wanted to make sure I was adjusting to the new environment alright. I think we have Defense Against the Dark Arts with you. You'll love my mum, she's a wonderful teacher," Alysia bubbled. "What do you have first?"  
  
"Well, Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors and I are going to Divination, in the North Tower. Hermione dropped out of that, so she's got. . ." Ron began, but Hermione cut him off.  
  
"Arithmacy. Do you think your mother will want to stay as a teacher here?" she asked pointedly. "We've had five other teachers already, and they all left, for various reasons. What about your mum? Do you think she'll stay?"  
  
"I hope so. I'm starting to like it here," Alysia admitted, and then excused herself to go to Transfiguration. She'd overheard Professor McGonagall telling her mother that they would be starting human to animal transfigurations today. Sure enough, there was a gray tabby sitting on Professor McGonagall's desk when Alysia entered the classroom. She spotted Draco smiling at her from his desk across the room. The desk next to him was open, and Alysia was quite prepared to take that seat, when Susan Bones appeared at her side.  
  
"Hi, Alysia! I haven't seen you all morning! Where'd you go?" she asked breathless and excited like a little puppy.  
  
"I took a walk and had breakfast," Alysia answered shortly, wanting very much for Susan to leave her alone. "We should probably sit down."  
  
"Come sit over here! Moira and I saved you a seat!" Susan pointed to the third desk in the front row, next to which sat a girl with curly red hair, green eyes, freckles and glasses. She waved to Susan and Alysia, who was dragged to the third seat, shrugging her apologies to Draco. He did not look pleased.  
  
"Good morning, Alysia! I don't think I introduced myself last night! I'm Moira Angel O'Hara," Moira cried, grabbing Alysia's hand and shaking heartily. Alysia forced a smile.  
  
"Hello, Moira. I'm Alysia Karadhras," she stated colorlessly, and was extremely relieved when the gray tabby leapt gracefully from the table and transformed into Professor McGonagall. The lecture was on animal transfiguration and animagi, or witches and wizards who transfigured into animals on a regular basis. Alysia smiled secretly, having understood animagi and human-to-animal transfiguration since before she understood reading. Later, Professor McGonagall told the students to split into pairs and spend the remainder of the period trying to transfigure each other into either a bullfrog or a cat and back again. Moira and Susan were preparing to ask Professor McGonagall if they and Alysia could be a group of three, but Alysia politely declined.  
  
"I'm sure I can find someone else to work with," she told them, looking over at Draco, who did not yet have a partner. Before Susan and Moira could protest, she had hurried over to the other side of the room and was sitting next to Draco.  
  
"Not that I blame you for taking the first chance to escape that you had, but aren't you worried what people will think of you?" Draco asked in a lazy drawl, returning Alysia's smile with a smirk.  
  
"Why should I be?" Alysia asked. "Everyone else is taken and you didn't have a partner. It's simple logic." This made Draco laugh.  
  
"It's pure genius," he told her.  
  
"Relatively speaking. Let's get to work. I'll transfigure you first," Alysia stated. "Would you rather be a cat or a bullfrog? Or, I can really impress everyone and turn you into a ferret."  
  
Draco flushed pink at that. "How about you go first? I'm sure you'd make a lovely black cat," he stated. Alysia felt her face go slack at that.  
  
"I'd make a better falcon than cat," she muttered under her breath, looking away.  
  
"What was that?" Draco asked.  
  
"Nothing. I still think you should go first," she told him, but Draco laughed, shaking his head.  
  
"Nonsense! Animagus Transfigurarem!" he exclaimed, flicking his wand at her. His eyes widened in surprise when, rather than seeing a black cat on the ground in front of him, a black falcon took flight. The entire classroom gasped as the falcon landed on the desk in front of Draco, with a look in her eyes that clearly said, "Change me back, now." He muttered the reversal spell, and Alysia resumed her normal form. Professor McGonagall was annoyed.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, I said either a bullfrog or a cat, but not a falcon!" she stated, glaring at them. "Five points from Slytherin." She then whirled around and started to lecture two Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie MacMillan, as Ernie was only half transfigured into a bullfrog and was hopping around the back of the classroom on enormous legs. Alysia turned sheepishly to Draco, who looked confused and irate.  
  
"How did that not work? I did everything right, the pronunciation was right on and I was picturing you as a gorgeous black cat. Were you doing that, too?" Alysia sighed and nodded. "I don't understand. Why did you turn into a falcon?"  
  
Alysia bit her lip, and was about to speak up again when Professor McGonagall dismissed the class. She sighed in relief and gathered her things. Surprisingly, Draco was waiting for her at the door. He still could not understand why Alysia had turned into a falcon rather than a cat.  
  
"And she took points off for it! I can't believe that!" he exclaimed, vehemently. "Didn't I tell you she was strict?"  
  
"The strictest," Alysia murmured, noting the looks of shock on Susan and Moira's faces as they walked past and began whispering.  
  
"But how. . .? Unless. . .but you can't be. . .can you?" Draco looked at Alysia questioningly, obviously lost in his train of thoughts.  
  
"Can I what?" she asked.  
  
"I think I remember reading somewhere that animagi can only turn into their animal form, and no other animal. But you can't be an animagus, can you?" he asked, incredulously. A look of devious mischief came over his face. "Unless you're not registered."  
  
Alysia gave him a look, and started walking quickly towards the library. Draco followed, almost having to run at some points. When they finally arrived, Alysia hurried to a secluded table in the back and pretended to be terribly interested in a copy of You and Your Dragon. "My whole family are animagi. I had to become one as a part of my education last year. I know it's illegal and all, but my mother insisted," she said in a low voice. "I could get into a lot of trouble for this, so don't tell anyone."  
  
"I won't," Draco whispered, looking a bit awestricken. "What does your mum turn into? If she's one too, I mean."  
  
"A lioness. She's beautiful when she transforms," Alysia turned the page, which showed a picture of a Norwegian Ridgeback baby, drinking from a bottle of Muggle kerosene. "The animal chooses the animagus. I'm not sure why she became a lioness."  
  
Draco paused. "What about your father?" Alysia looked away, and Draco put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to talk about him if you don't want to."  
  
She turned back and gave him a small smile. "Thank you. I. . .I'm just not ready to talk to people about him, that's all," she replied softly.  
  
Draco looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't. After a quiet moment, Alysia picked up her backpack and started to leave for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Before she was all the way out the door, Draco called after her. "Do you fly on a broomstick as well?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, sir, I do," she told him.  
  
"I'll bet you play Seeker, then."  
  
"How'd you guess that?"  
  
"I'm a genius."  
  
Alysia laughed aloud. "Relatively speaking!"  
  
A/N: Hmm.I don't know if I like how Draco's turning out. Well, that's okay. And Alysia's an animagus, too. Wasn't expecting that, either. The things that come out of my fingers. Well, leave me a couple of reviews and we'll see how the plot develops, next chapter. 


	3. The Dog is Out of the Bag

Chapter Three: The Dog is (Almost) Out of the Bag  
  
Alysia knew that her mother always liked the first lesson to be as practical as possible, so she was not at all surprised to see a sign on the DADA classroom reading, "Meet me on the Quidditch Pitch. Signed, A. Karadhras." She read it just in time to be bumped into by Harry, Ron and Hermione, breathing hard as if they'd just run a mile. Ron groaned when he read the note.  
  
"You mean we just ran all the way here from Divination for nothing?" he gasped, leaning against a column.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't say for nothing, Ron. If you hadn't run here, how would you know class was outside today?" Alysia pointed out. "Let's go." Together, the four hurried out to the Quidditch pitch, where Alysia was delighted to see a furious-looking manticore baring its ugly teeth at them. The manticore was a hideous creature, with the head of a man, the body of a lion and the stinging tail of a scorpion. It was tethered between two goal posts at the farthest end of the field, where Hagrid was looking at it with enormous amounts of pity. Alysia's mother was standing a safe distance from the beast, as was the rest of the class.  
  
"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts, sixth years! Today's lesson will be combined with your first Care of Magical Creatures lesson." Suddenly, she was interrupted by a chorus of voices. The Ravenclaws and Slytherins were hurrying down to the pitch, all muttering about their Herbology class having been cancelled for some reason. Alysia spotted Draco in the crowd, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, and smiled in their direction. Draco hadn't seen her, as he was too busy sneering at Hagrid and the beast, but it was okay because something else had attracted Alysia's attention. Standing ten feet behind the manticore was a form she recognized all too well. A huge black dog was pacing back and forth protectively. Oh no, Alysia thought, praying that Harry and his friends would not recognize the dog. He had grabbed Ron and Hermione's arms and was speaking to them in a low voice. Alysia hoped it was not about the black dog that was her father.  
  
Her mother, on the other hand, was resuming her lecture. "A welcome to the Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Your first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson and your first Care of Magical Creatures lesson are being combined. I hope this doesn't upset you too much, Mr. Malfoy. If there is a complaint, you may take it all the way to Professor Dumbledore if you like, but I will warn you in advance, it was his idea." Alysia suppressed a giggle at the scowl that crossed Draco's face. "My name is Anaral Karadhras, but because I'm nice like that, you may call me Ana. This is Hagrid. I trust you all know him by now. And this lovely creature is a manticore." She indicated the manticore with a wave of the hand, as if brushing away a troublesome fly.  
  
"'Is name's Mortimer," Hagrid muttered defensively, and Alysia smiled again. This would be an interesting class.  
  
"Yes, Mortimer the Manticore. Thank you, Hagrid," Alysia's mother continued. "Manticores are highly dangerous beasts, very violent and aggressive. They have the mental capacity of a fully grown man but the understanding of a two-year-old. You would do well to keep your distance, Mr. Zabini, or you might get your hand bitten off." Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin, backed away sheepishly. "Manticores do not respond well to normal spells of defense. So, today you are going to learn two methods for dealing with manticores. First, I will teach you the more practical method, which involves the use of a wand. Then Hagrid will teach you the. . .less practical method. So we begin."  
  
Ana moved a little closer to the manticore, which immediately started howling at the top of its lungs. "HUN-GREE!!" it growled, eyeing Ana greedily. Alysia watched the black dog's pacing grow more defensive, its heckles up. If Ana saw this as well, she ignored it. "Now, the first thing you need to know is that manticores are incredibly pathetic and whiney. All one really has to do to quiet a manticore down is a well-aimed shot to his forehead and the words, 'Memnos animos.' This will put the manticore to sleep. Observe." Ana was now within range of the manticore's swiping paws. Its horrible teeth were bared, ready to eat whatever prize its paws brought. The scorpion's tail clattered in a terrifying way. One false move and Ana would meet its sting. Alysia watched in terrified wonder as she continued to approach the beast. The black dog was now crouched, prepared to strike at the manticore if it attacked Ana. His preparations, however, were unnecessary. The beast rose up its stinger to deliver a fatal blow, and Ana raised her wand. In an almost lazy voice, she stated, "Memnos animos." A jet of white light flew from the end of her wand, hit the manticore in the forehead, and it collapsed in a peaceful slumber. Alysia almost collapsed in relief.  
  
"Your mum's good at putting herself in danger, isn't she?" a voice drawled behind her. Alysia nodded her head shakily, trusting that Draco would understand that this was not the time to talk about her mother putting herself in danger. She had now retreated a safe distance and was facing the manticore.  
  
"Ennervate," she muttered, and the beast awoke, realizing it had been duped. It howled in rage and the dog backed away. "If you're ever in the forest with this creature, I can assure you that this spell will help you more than Hagrid's method, which takes a bit of time. Hagrid?"  
  
She walked to the stands, rather shakily Alysia noted, and Hagrid walked forward. "Well. . .deep down, manticores're real gentle-like. They jus' need a bit o' lovin's all. All yeh gotter do is sing 'em a lullaby, an' they go straight asleep," Hagrid explained, a bit nervously.  
  
"Of course! Why didn't I think of that?" Draco crowed, loudly, and several people laughed. Hagrid looked a bit taken aback, but kept talking anyway.  
  
"Now, lemme see. . .ah, codswallop, I dunno no lullabies. Alysia! Can yeh sing?" Hagrid called. Alysia felt her face paling, and noticed the frightened looks of everyone around her. The black dog, which had retreated to the stands with her mother was now staring straight at Hagrid with a dark look. Harry, Ron and Hermione looked horrified, and Draco looked like he either wanted to run or take Alysia's place. She stepped forward, shaking. I suppose I could always transform if it attacks me, she thought.  
  
"Yes. I can sing," her voice said, in barely more than a whisper. Hagrid motioned for her to come closer to the manticore. It seemed like Alysia's voice was stuck in her throat when she looked at the growling beast. She had never been this close to a manticore before, and the most noticeable thing about it was that the beast's breath was rancid. Its beard and hair were matted into dreadlocks and it was drooling.  
  
"HUN-GREE!!" the manticore announced, swiping at Alysia. Her hand gripped her wand, but she stood her ground.  
  
"Okay, then," she said aloud, without realizing she'd spoken. Without a thought in her head, she began to sing the only lullaby that came to mind.  
  
"Sleep now, my little dear one Sleep little one, sleep deep. Fly as I sing on angel's wings, Oh sleep little one, sleep deep. Oh sleep, sleep my darling baby Sleep little one, sleep deep Oh sleep, sleep my darling baby Sleep little one, sleep deep."  
  
It seemed to be having some effect on the manticore. It had stopped yelling and was staring at Alysia as a creature stares at its mother. She dared not stop singing, and repeated the song. This time, it truly had an effect on the manticore. The beast's eyelids drooped, and before she'd finished the refrain, it collapsed, snoring. Hagrid beamed at her and motioned for her to step back. Everyone watched in complete silence as Alysia backed away from the manticore. No one said a word as she walked through the crowd, off of the Quidditch pitch, and back to the castle. Not a soul seemed to see her as she made her way to the library and found herself a quiet place in the back corner, where she pulled her knees up to her chest and wept all of the terror away.  
  
It could have been minutes or hours before someone touched her arm. Alysia jumped and looked up, seeing Draco kneeling next to her. She hastily wiped away the stray tears that still sat on her cheeks. "How did you know I was here?" she asked in a choked voice.  
  
"You weren't in your room, the banquet hall is too public and I doubt you'd be hiding in a teacher's office. Are you okay?" Draco seemed genuinely concerned. Alysia shook her head.  
  
"No, but I'll manage. I'm sure my mother was in on it. She likes me to get out there and be brave. I'm not angry about it. Just really scared, that's all," she answered. She knew that Draco had, at one point, tried to get Hagrid fired from his position at the school. She didn't want to give him any reason to further that cause.  
  
"Are you sure? Because I can talk to my father, and he'll. . ."  
  
"No! Please, Draco, I meant it when I said I wasn't angry. And if you talk to your father, he'll probably get my mother fired, and then I'll have to leave," Alysia pleaded. Draco looked like he was about to say something, when a shadow fell over them. Alysia didn't look up, but Draco did.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?" he sneered.  
  
"I need to speak with Alysia. It's important," Harry answered.  
  
"So's this." Draco put an arm around Alysia's shoulders. She shrugged it off.  
  
"It's okay, Draco. I'll talk to you later. I've needed to talk to Harry, too," she told Draco, standing up. "Thank you for being there for me."  
  
Draco looked reluctant to leave, but did so, casting a wary glance at Harry. Harry sat down on the floor next to Alysia, not looking at her. For a long moment, they sat in silence, then Harry spoke up quietly.  
  
"I just wanted to ask you two things, but first, are you okay?" he asked. Alysia nodded, pressing her lips together. "Good. I don't mean to cut this short, but I've got a class to get to. I just wanted to ask, first of all, where did you learn that lullaby?"  
  
"My mother used to sing it to me, when I was a baby. I think your mother did, too. Why? Did you recognize it?" Alysia turned so that she was facing Harry. He barely nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I did. And now I know why," he stated in a soft tone. He was silent for a moment, then avoided Alysia's eyes as he spoke. "The other thing I was wondering. . .is that your dog that was on the pitch today?"  
  
Alysia nearly choked in surprise, but managed to keep her voice calm as she answered, "Yes, he is. We call him Blackie," she lied. Truth be told, she'd never called that black dog anything but "daddy".  
  
"How long have you had him?" Harry asked in a faraway voice.  
  
"Oh, about three years. Mum got him for me for Christmas one year." Alysia was impressing herself with these on-the-spot stories.  
  
"I see. I just. . .know a dog like him, from somewhere," Harry explained unnecessarily. Alysia knew he'd recognized Sirius, but she was not ready to explain the connection. Not yet. Luckily for her, the door to the library opened just then and her mother breezed in. Sirius was not with her.  
  
"There you are, Alysia!" Her voice was breathy with relief as she hugged Alysia tightly. "You had me worried when you ran off like that. Are you alright?"  
  
"Yes, mum, I'm fine," Alysia answered automatically.  
  
"Good, because I need to talk to you in my office. Let's go. Be on your way, Harry." Alysia's mother gave her a hand and helped her off the floor. Alysia had a feeling she knew what was coming as she followed her mother to her office, passing many staring students on the way. Someone whispered about her voice, and she knew that word of her putting the manticore to sleep had spread throughout the school. They finally reached her mother's office, where, as Alysia expected, the black dog was lying on the floor. Her mother turned around and locked the door, and Sirius transformed into his normal self.  
  
"Alysia, thank God!" her father exclaimed, embracing her tightly. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm fine, Dad. Really. Just a little shaken up is all," Alysia answered, sitting down in one of her mother's overstuffed chairs.  
  
"I'm not surprised. Having to deal with a full-grown manticore on the first day of classes! That's harsh," her father shook his head as if remembering something similar from his days at Hogwart's.  
  
"Harsh! I knew Alysia was more than capable of handling that manticore. If the danger became too strong, she could have simply taken her falcon form and flown away. As it was, though, she was perfectly capable without. . ."  
  
"Without doing something that could have gotten her into serious trouble with the Ministry of Magic!" Sirius sounded exasperated. "Ana, I know you meant well, but Alysia's still just a child, and she. . ."  
  
"I'm not a child! I'm sixteen years old!" Alysia argued. Her parents stared at her. "Look, I'll admit it, I was terrified of the manticore, and I would rather have not faced it, but it didn't hurt me. Mum wouldn't have put me into a situation that I would more likely than not die from. But, Mum. . ." Alysia reeled on her mother. "Why did you let Hagrid scare me like that? I was terrified!"  
  
"Honey, I'm sorry. I knew you were more than capable of singing the manticore to sleep, but I hadn't expected him to be half as wild as he was. If I'd known, I would have insisted beforehand that Hagrid not even think of teaching you that method! It's hardly practical, and. . ."  
  
Alysia sighed heavily, cutting her mother off. She was now looking at her father. "Daddy, I think Harry recognized you," she told him.  
  
"Of course he did. He's not stupid," her father said rudely.  
  
"Daddy, I don't want Harry knowing yet!" Alysia exclaimed. "I don't want him to suddenly feel like he has to be my friend because the likelihood is that he and I will one day be siblings."  
  
Her father sighed, shaking his head. "It's your choice, Alysia. But I'd really rather that you were honest about this."  
  
"Give her time, Sirius," Ana said, gently, then looked at Alysia again. "I noticed you eating breakfast with Lucius Malfoy's son."  
  
"Malfoy's son!?" Now Sirius was standing bolt upright, his eyes wide.  
  
"What? I know you and Mr. Malfoy didn't get along in school, Daddy, but Draco's not his father!" Alysia exclaimed, looking at the clock. She was supposed to be in Charms right now, with the Ravenclaws. Somehow, she guessed that her mother would be making excuses for her.  
  
"Might as well be. Harry told me that Draco's as good as joined You-Know- Who," her father explained. By that time, Alysia had had her fill.  
  
"That's just great, Dad. Did Harry tell you anything else? Maybe why it's okay for him to choose his own friends, but I have to get his approval before I decide who I want to be friends with?" Sirius reached for Alysia, but she backed away angrily. "Who's really your kid, Dad? Me or Harry?"  
  
"Aly. . ." But he could get no further. Alysia pushed her way out of the room, trying to get as far away from her father as possible before the tears could squeeze their way out. She knew there was no hope she'd run into Draco or even Susan Bones. Everyone was in class. She wasn't seeking solace, though; only a quiet, lonely peace that had become her greatest comfort.  
  
The only place Alysia could think of as lonely enough was the Dark Forest. She had no fear of what she would find there. Anything possibly frightening could be avoided with a simple spell or a transformation to her falcon form. With a quick stop in her room to grab her diary, Alysia ran. She ran until she found herself gasping for breath at the edge of the Dark Forest. A few stray tears had managed to escape, but Alysia ignored them.  
  
Even at midday, the Forest was frightening to behold. Strange noises echoed within, and shadows flitted deep within between the trees. It appeared to be black as night only a few feet in. Alysia felt a rush of excitement as she took her first step into the Forest. Not wanting to go too far in, Alysia climbed a tree from which the castle was still completely visible. She opened her diary, having put a spell on the quill so that the ink would not run out. Before she could write a word, however, the tree shook. Alysia nearly dropped her quill. The tree shook again.  
  
"You there! Girl! Come down from there!" a voice called from below her. Alysia looked down to see a centauress kicking the tree with her hind legs.  
  
"What do you want?" she yelled back.  
  
"For you to leave these woods for your safety!" the centauress called again. "Please come down from there."  
  
Alysia was too shocked to do anything but comply. The centauress was a beautiful white horse with golden hair and a garland of white flowers draped around her neck and over her hair. Her skin was the color of porcelain and her eyes a pale blue. She looked at Alysia with great concern.  
  
"You are the falcon-girl, are you not?" she asked. Alysia nodded. "My name is Fidelina. These woods are not safe."  
  
"I wasn't even in 'these woods'! I just. . ." Alysia had no good excuse to escape Fidelina's probing gaze. "I needed to be by myself."  
  
"By yourself? Why?"  
  
"It's none of your business!" Alysia snapped. "Why don't you just come off it? I'll leave your stupid forest if you want."  
  
"Do not be angry, Alysia." Fidelina placed a white hand on Alysia's shoulder and Alysia shook it off. "Anger is a dangerous thing, especially when it is towards those we love. When left unchecked, it can cause us to turn against them."  
  
"Thanks for the advice. Can I go now?" Alysia didn't wait for an answer, but whirled around and started storming towards the castle. Fidelina called after her again.  
  
"Your father will be wanting to talk to you, Alysia," she said in a voice that was just loud enough to be heard. Alysia looked at her again.  
  
"How do you know anything about my father?" she demanded.  
  
"Because I talk to her." Out of the shadows stepped her father, having just resumed his human form. "Aly, let's talk."  
  
Alysia sighed and approached the forest, giving Fidelina a sour look. She sat down at the base of a tree, which her father stood behind. "I'm sorry," he said finally.  
  
"Sorry for what?" Alysia asked, knowing that her question had come out a great deal more angrily than she'd intended.  
  
"For. . .for treating Harry like more of a son than I treat you like a daughter. For not being there to see you grow up. For being an escaped convict. Aly, it's hard for me. By the time most people are sixteen, their parents are old hats at the parenting thing. I'm brand new at it, and I seem to just keep messing up, with both you and Harry, if you can believe it," Sirius said, looking apologetic. Alysia didn't answer, not trusting her own words. "It's not fair, is it?" Sirius asked.  
  
"No, it isn't. But it's what I'm stuck with," Alysia sighed. "And I have to get used to it, whether I like it or not."  
  
"You do, sweetheart. But you also need to get used to something else," Sirius commented, putting an arm around Alysia. "You need to get used to having a father around who loves you very much."  
  
Alysia smiled and leaned against her father's shoulder. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling. "Snuffles? Are you here?" It was Harry.  
  
"Oh no, Dad. . ." Alysia started to back away, but Sirius held her by the arm.  
  
"Harry deserves to know that he has a sister," he told her quietly. Alysia sighed and relented, relaxing a bit. Her father loosened his grip on her arm as Harry approached. Harry was beginning to say something until he saw Alysia there.  
  
"Alysia, I can explain Sirius Black being here. . ." Harry began, but Alysia put her hand up.  
  
"Harry, it's okay. I know he's innocent," she said. "I've known longer than you have."  
  
"How is that. . .?" Harry seemed to be at a loss for words. Sirius smiled at him.  
  
"Harry, I'd like you to meet the second most important woman in my life, my daughter Alysia."  
  
Harry couldn't have looked more surprised if he tried. His eyes grew enormous and his mouth dropped open. For a while, he stood there gaping like a fish, then he managed to squeeze out the word, "How?"  
  
"Anaral and I were married about a month after your parents, Harry, and Alysia was born shortly after you were. Lily and James were delighted-they were Alysia's godparents, you know. Lily and Anaral, of course, had all these lofty plans for the two of you to fall in love and get married or something along those lines." Sirius paused and Harry and Alysia exchanged looked of feigned disgust. "James and I were a bit more practical and near- sighted, making plans for the two of you to be on the same Quidditch team, be head boy and girl, heads of departments at the Ministry of Magic. It was as if you'd been born with a built in best friend."  
  
Sirius' tone became quiet and pensive. "When Harry was about a year old, it happened. Lily and James were murdered. I remember the night clearly. I had planned just to check on Peter and then come back home and enjoy dinner with my wife and daughter. When I didn't find Pettigrew, I panicked. Went as fast as I could to Godric's Hollow, and there was Hagrid, with you already in his arms, Harry."  
  
"I would've taken you home with me, and given you to Anaral, while I went out to find the murdering bastard. But Hagrid had his orders and wouldn't be swayed. I went home quickly and told Anaral what had happened and what I had to do. She was terrified at the prospect and knew that there was a large chance that we'd never see each other again. I kissed her good-bye, then held my daughter one last time. And you know the rest." Sirius took a deep shaky breath, and Harry looked astounded.  
  
"If you and Professor Karadhras were married, why isn't her name Professor Black?" Harry finally asked, his voice cracking.  
  
"Mum knew that Black had a horrible stigma attached to it. She didn't want me to grow up with people always knowing that I was the daughter of a convicted murderer. So she took her own maiden name back. She always knew Dad was innocent, but the Ministry didn't. They offered to grant her an annulment, saying that she had plenty of grounds for it, but she said no, she was as good as a widow and wouldn't marry again. We moved away, to someplace where no one knew us as the Black family." Alysia let the words tumble out, unaware that she had just explained a lot of big things to Harry. Harry shook his head and sat down on the ground next to Alysia. He was about to say something, when there was the sound of footsteps approaching. In a flash, Sirius changed back to his animal form and bounded off into the forest. Alysia and Harry jumped up apprehensively to see none other than Professor Snape lurching towards them.  
  
"Lurking around the Forbidden Forest, Mr. Potter and Miss Karadhras? I daresay that merits detention or at least several points from both your houses, unless you can give me a good reason as to why you were here?" he sneered at them. Alysia glared at him.  
  
"You probably know perfectly well why we're down here. We have permission from my mother, and if you try to punish us for doing what she told us, I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore about your ridiculously unfair treatment of everyone who is not in Slytherin House!" Alysia warned. Snape looked like he wanted to say something, but Alysia cut him off. "My parents have told me plenty of fascinating stories about your time at Hogwart's, Professor Snape. I wouldn't want those stories becoming well-known among the students."  
  
Professor Snape's face had contorted in fury, and he whirled around and marched back to the castle without so much as another glance in Alysia and Harry's direction. Alysia bit back a laugh and began to walk back to the castle with Harry in tow.  
  
"How on earth do you do that? If I said half of that stuff to Snape, he'd give me detention for a month!" Harry pointed out. Alysia didn't even bother to hold in the laughter this time.  
  
"He knows that I've got all sorts of true stories about him from his days at Hogwart's, and he'd be completely humiliated if any of that stuff surfaced. Not a risk he wants to take," she explained.  
  
"So if Sirius is your dad. . .is that why you were taught at home? And why didn't you tell us?" Harry was firing the questions at her quickly. Alysia ducked her head.  
  
"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be my friends just because of who my dad was or not like me because of who my dad was. That's what happened that made me be taught at home," Alysia explained. "I was in this play group for wizard and witch children who were not old enough for Hogwart's. My mum thought it would be good for me to get to know some people before I went there. Anyway, I think I was about six when they had a 'bring your father to play group' day. I was the only person without her father there. The witch who was in charge was this chubby, mean thing, and when she asked me where my father was, I told her the truth. 'He's in Azkaban,' I explained. 'Now, that's just ridiculous, Alysia. Where is your father really?' 'He's really in Azkaban! His name is Sirius Black!' I said. And that's when it all changed. She got all quiet and backed away from me as if I was going to explode. The kids stopped talking to me, and I knew they'd told their parents. They started hexing me, first behind the teachers' backs and then right in front of their faces. They didn't seem to care. I told my mother and she pulled me out. We moved again, and I was taught at home from then on."  
  
Ron and Hermione looked serious as Alysia finished her tale. They were sitting at a long table in the library, speaking in hushed voices. At the insistence of Harry, Alysia had explained the whole thing to both of them. Now, Ron and Hermione regarded her more trustingly.  
  
"That's awful, Alysia." Hermione looked completely sympathetic. "They never really hurt you, did they?"  
  
"Not really," Alysia answered, shaking her head. "My dad was furious when we told him, when he escaped from Azkaban. But it's over now. Nothing we can do. Just please don't tell anyone here. I don't want them knowing who my father is. I don't want to risk being hexed or cursed again. It's humiliating."  
  
"Don't worry. If anyone finds out and tries to hex or curse you because of it, we'll. . .we'll curse 'em 'til they can't walk ever again," Ron vowed. Alysia laughed at this, and Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Most people won't care who your father is, Alysia," she stated expertly, but her expression darkened suddenly. "Some people, on the other hand, will care a great deal." Alysia followed Hermione's gaze to see Draco Malfoy sauntering into the library. He spotted Alysia and smiled at her, barely noticing that the others were there. Alysia began to smile back, until she realized that the others' expressions were stony and silent. She opened her mouth to say something, when the door to the library burst open.  
  
"HUN-GREE!!" a manticore howled, storming into the library with its scorpion tail rattling. A chorus of screams rang out as students tripped over each other to get away from the beast. Alysia whipped out her wand, and noticed that Harry, Ron and Hermione had as well.  
  
"No!" she said to them. "No, I've handled manticores since before you knew the difference between a boggart and a poltergeist. Go get my mum and Professor Dumbledore. Hurry!"  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed rooted to the spot, however, their jaws set. Alysia wrinkled her nose and ran forward. The beast glared at her.  
  
"Get out of the way!" it growled. It raised a paw to strike Alysia, and before she could do anything, someone shoved her out of the way. She gasped to see Draco reeling under the blow of the manticore's massive paw.  
  
"Draco, you idiot!" she snapped. "Memnos animos!" The manticore dropped peacefully to the ground, snoring. Alysia watched Harry, Ron and Hermione hurry out of the room, and then dragged Draco to a safe distance. He swore as she helped him up.  
  
"I knew they shouldn't have brought that beast onto the school grounds," he groaned. Alysia looked at his shoulder which had been struck by the manticore and now had a deep gash in it.  
  
"You're not hurt are you?" she asked.  
  
"No, but I. . ."  
  
"It wasn't the same manticore. Mortimer was released this morning, into the Dark Forest." Alysia's voice was low. A moment later, rushing footsteps alerted her to the arrival of her mother and the headmaster. Other footsteps seemed to suggest the presence of Professors McGonagall and Snape. Alysia stood up to face them.  
  
"What happened, Alysia?" her mother asked shakily.  
  
"It just burst in here. Everyone got out of the way, and I went to use the spell we learned this morning on it. It said, 'Get out of the way!' and started to strike at me, but Draco pushed me out of the way. I. . .I did the spell and. . ." she trailed off. "Draco's hurt," she added.  
  
"Alysia, you go with Draco to the hospital wing, and we'll clean this up. I'm very proud of you," Anaral said with a small smile. Alysia managed a smile back and helped Draco to his feet. They shuffled to the hospital wing, followed silently by Harry, Ron and Hermione. There was, of course, much to discuss. 


	4. Quidditch Games and Harpy Attacks

Chapter Four: Quidditch Games and Harpy Attacks  
  
Draco was wearing a brave sort of grimace as Madame Pomfrey bandaged his shoulder, clucking her tongue like a mother hen. Alysia and the others watched in silence as she finished the job and backed away quietly.  
  
"Keep that arm immobile for a week," she ordered, then hurried away muttering about "foolish acts of heroism". She drew the curtain around them and Alysia rounded on Draco crossly.  
  
"Why the hell did you do that?" she snapped. "I knew what I was doing; you could have been killed!" Draco didn't answer, and Ron muttered something under his breath. Hermione, on the other hand, didn't seem to care why Draco had pushed Alysia out of the way.  
  
"Didn't any of you pay attention? The manticore said, 'Get out of the way!'" she pointed out.  
  
"We know this," Ron muttered.  
  
"Manticores are really stupid. They don't usually speak in sentences. I don't think that manticore was acting out of his own free will," she continued. Alysia nodded.  
  
"I agree. Of all the manticores I've ever seen, none of them have ever used a full sentence. Usually just a word or two." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Only problem is that most manticores are immune to controlling curses, like the Imperius Curse. Their brains aren't developed enough to be controlled in that way."  
  
There was a silence for a moment until Harry spoke up. "It was probably after me," he commented quietly.  
  
"Not necessarily. . ." Hermione began, but Ron cut her off.  
  
"Not necessarily? Who else would it be after? You?" he shouted. Hermione looked stung, but Ron ignored it. "And I'll bet it's You-Know-Who again, too. Before we know it, we're going to have a manticore-infested castle!"  
  
Had the situation not been so serious, Alysia would have laughed at Ron's last statement. As it was, however, she simply shook her head and turned to the three. "I'm not sure what made that manticore speak like that, but I am sure that there will be more to follow. Can you do me a favor? Look up mind- controlling curses in the library and see which ones can be used on a manticore." They hesitated for a moment, seemingly not wanting to leave Alysia alone with Draco, then hurried out of the hospital wing. Alysia turned to Draco and gave him a hard stare.  
  
"I didn't want you to get hurt!" he exclaimed loudly. "That. . .that thing was about to swallow you whole."  
  
"Draco, I had it under control," Alysia pointed out, her voice hard. "You nearly got yourself swallowed whole. Don't do that!"  
  
Draco didn't respond, but instead leaned back and looked away. Alysia gave a huge sigh. "Look, I know you were just trying to protect me, but I don't need protecting. I never have. I can take care of myself."  
  
"Is that because your dad wasn't around?" Draco asked suddenly, and Alysia's eyes widened in shock.  
  
"How did you know that?" she asked.  
  
"My father mentioned it when I told him who your mother was. He told me that your father left when you were a little less than a year old. Do you remember him at all?"  
  
Alysia looked away and shook her head. She had been unprepared to tell Harry about her father; she felt even more unprepared to tell Draco much of anything about her family life. She hoped he would take the hint and leave the subject alone, which he did.  
  
"I didn't mean to upset you," he said. "Are you alright?"  
  
Alysia nodded. "Don't worry about it. I'm just not ready to talk about it, that's all. I don't know you well enough."  
  
Draco managed a smile. "Well, I hope you get to know me well enough soon." Alysia smiled back and touched his healthy arm.  
  
"I'm going to go find Harry and the others now. I'll be back later, after supper," she told him before leaving the curtained enclosure.  
  
That afternoon's research proved ineffective. No matter how many books the four looked in, they could not find a single passage about manticore mind- controlling curses. Finally, late for supper and exhausted, they gave up the search. Alysia went to Hufflepuff table for supper and did not answer one of Susan or Moira's pestering questions about the manticores and Draco. After supper, she returned to the hospital wing, only to find Draco sound asleep. She decided that she'd better wait until morning, rather than waking him. She didn't bother to write in her diary again that night, as she was too overwhelmed by the business of the day. In comparison, the days that followed were dull and colorless. She visited Draco in the hospital wing until Madame Pomfrey let him leave. She walked between classes with Draco or Harry and company or by herself. Her parents met with her on a regular basis, making sure that her classes were going well and that she was making plenty of friends. Finally, in October, the time of year she had been waiting for arrived: Quidditch Season.  
  
It was a bright early October morning when Alysia and her Firebolt headed out to the Quidditch pitch for the first time. Try-outs had been announced for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and they were looking for a Seeker. Naturally, Alysia was thrilled with the idea and signed up immediately. When the time finally came, she had practiced until she could practice no more and felt more than a little ready. The team captain, sixth-year Hannah Abbott, was a beater and a familiar face to Alysia as they had several classes together. She smiled broadly when she saw Alysia approaching the pitch.  
  
"Hey, Alysia. I don't think anyone else is coming. . .apparently the whole house heard that you're a great Seeker and decided to root for you instead. I'm not going to really make you try out or anything, just show me some moves so I can start strategizing around you," Hannah greeted Alysia, shaking her hand. Alysia was stunned, but didn't say a word as she mounted her broom and dove and feinted for Hannah's benefit. When she returned to the ground, Hannah was smiling even wider.  
  
"Great job. Our first practice is tomorrow evening at five and we have our first game on Halloween against Gryffindor. Harry Potter's the Seeker for that team and he's only lost one match in the six years he's been here. Granted, that had something to do with the Dementors who were on the school ground at the time and the fact that Harry fell off his broom, but do you know who they lost to, Alysia? They lost to Hufflepuff. Cedric Diggory, God rest him, caught the Snitch and no one could argue that we won fair and square. I need another win like that, Alysia. Can you do that for me?" Hannah's pep talk was quite amusing, as Alysia already knew the story inside out and backwards. She simply nodded, however, and let Hannah keep talking as they headed to Herbology with the Gryffindors. Hannah was still talking about Quidditch as the lesson began, but Alysia ignored her and mouthed the words "I'm in" to Harry, Ron and Hermione, who grinned wildly.  
  
Practice sessions went well, whether in rain or sunshine, and Alysia was mildly impressed to note that Draco was sitting in the stands for every one of them. This started to annoy Hannah by the third practice, and she spoke to Alysia about it while the chasers and keeper were running drills.  
  
"Alysia," she began, "I don't want Malfoy at our practices. The Slytherins are cheaters. Everyone knows that."  
  
"I don't think Draco is here to steal strategies, Hannah," Alysia pointed out, but Hannah shook her head.  
  
"That may be, Alysia, but it's making other people on the team uncomfortable. You may trust him, but the rest of us don't." Hannah probably hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but her words stung Alysia like a slap across the face. She wondered if the same things would be said about her if people found out who her father was, but decided not to wonder aloud. She simply agreed to talk to Draco and let Hannah continue running the team her way.  
  
Draco was not too pleased with Hannah's feelings on the situation. "Bloody hell! Just because I'm from Slytherin and I come on the field, I'm automatically a spy! Who does she think she is?" he yelled later on in the library. Madame Pince glared in their direction and Alysia sent her an apologetic glance.  
  
"I can't help it. I don't think you're a spy, but Hannah apparently does. There's nothing I can do about it," she whispered.  
  
"Alysia, this is why you don't belong in Hufflepuff. You're too smart for them!" Draco exclaimed, and Alysia shook her head.  
  
"Draco, you're just as bad as they are," she muttered, looking away. Draco hadn't heard her and simply continued on his tirade against Hufflepuff, against Hannah Abbott in particular. This was routine for Draco. If there was anything Alysia had learned in the past several weeks, it was that her new friend liked to complain about any and everything to anyone who would listen. Though sometimes he was right in his complaints, Alysia was becoming accustomed to tuning out Draco's frustrated ranting. Once, she dared to ask if he'd ever done anything about the problems he so loved to complain about, but he just pressed his lips shut and looked away.  
  
Classes kept everyone busy. Alysia's mother was cooperating Hagrid and together, the two were concentrating on magical creatures of England and multi-special beasts, or creatures whose bodies were made up of parts from several different animals. So far, they had covered banshees, bendiths, black annis, sirens and harpies in Defense against the Dark Arts and amadán, bwbachad, sphinx, mermaids and centaurs in Care for Magical Creatures. Transfiguration was going well, though Alysia and Draco never seemed to have time to transform Alysia into another animal. Alysia was considering helping Draco to become an animagus, just for the fun of it, but she had not mentioned the idea to him yet. Divination was a joke as always. Professor Trelawney constantly told Alysia that she was heading for certain doom, no matter what she did, but Alysia would simply roll her eyes and draw pictures of Professor Trelawney meeting the fates predicted for Alysia. Charms was a pleasant enough class, as Alysia enjoyed firing random charms at the Ravenclaw sixth years while Professor Flitwick applauded her efforts. Potions was also an easy class, to the frustration of Professor Snape. No matter how hard he tried to make one of Alysia's potions fail, he never succeeded and was forced to simply stand by and sneer while Alysia continued to make perfect potions. As for History of Magic and Herbology, Alysia barely had to pay attention to find herself acing each and every quiz and test.  
  
Finally, Halloween morning arrived. Alysia woke up bright and early, wrote in her diary, and went to breakfast before anyone else could possibly be there. Soon, though, the hall started to fill with students excited about the first Quidditch match of the season. The other members of Hufflepuff team and most of the members of Gryffindor team were not eating their breakfast. Most seemed far too nervous to do anything but push the eggs and bacon around on their plates. Alysia, however, became hungrier the more nervous she was. She packed away her scrambled eggs and bacon like she would never eat again, then sat quietly, waiting for the other members of her team to give up on trying to eat anything.  
  
Over on the other table, she spotted Harry being begged to eat by Ron and Hermione. Hermione even picked up a forkful of eggs and tried to force-feed him, but he pushed the fork away. Looking up, he spotted Alysia and gave her a nervous half-smile. Alysia smiled back then turned to look at the Slytherin table. Draco was, as usual, seated between his lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle. They ate nonchalantly, obviously not caring a wink about the upcoming match. Alysia suspected none of the Slytherins would be there, but Draco spotted her and winked merrily, so she realized it was quite possible that one Slytherin might be at the Quidditch pitch that afternoon.  
  
And then it was time. Alysia was rushed out of the hall by the rest of the Quidditch team, Hannah dragging her by the wrist. Thankfully, the rest of the team let her change into her robes in peace, but once she was dressed in her robes and padding they surrounded her again and escorted her out to the field.  
  
"Are you ready for this, Alysia?" Hannah asked. "Remember, Potter's good, but ridiculously unlucky. Play that to your advantage, alright? Don't get distracted and make sure that you catch the Snitch before Potter has time to think about it." Alysia nodded to acknowledge Hannah's instructions as they marched forth, brooms in hand. Alysia felt her Firebolt vibrating and clutched it tightly with anticipation. She could hear the roar of the crowd ahead. And then, it was time. The Hufflepuff house team headed out to the Quidditch pitch to the roar of a crowd dressed in yellow and red. Harry, the team captain for Gryffindor, walked out and shook Hannah's hand, and they pushed off the ground. Sydney Jordan, who called the games in the tradition of her older brother Lee, started speaking with her magically magnified voice.  
  
"Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor against Hufflepuff! This is the first time the teams have faced off in three years, and they are now two entirely different teams! Gryffindor's looking strong this year with Cox, Creevey, Finnegan, Weasley, Hume, Grant and Potter!" At the mention of Harry, the Gryffindor crowd went into rapturous cheers, while the Hufflepuff side remained silent. "They'll be facing fierce competition: Abbott, MacMillan, Strong, Weatherbee, Atkins, Allen and Karadhras!" Alysia followed her team in flying over the Hufflepuff stands as the house below cheered, and nearly fell off her broom in surprise seeing Draco Malfoy sitting (rather crossly) beside Susan and Moira. When she flew over him, he smiled broadly at her. Flying over the teachers, Alysia was in for another surprise. Her mother, sitting at the top of the stands with Professor Dumbledore, was accompanied by a large black dog, which she was scratching behind the ears. She cheered as Alysia passed, and the dog barked.  
  
"Take your positions. I want a clean game, now," Madame Hooch called from below. Alysia flew to her position, above the rest of the team, facing Harry. She smiled at him, and he back at her, and in that moment, Alysia felt a conflict she'd never faced before. Though she desperately wanted to win the game, she also wanted Harry to win. Confused, Alysia turned back to the game. Madame Hooch released the Bludgers and the beaters were off. A moment later, Alysia heard a whirring sound and the Snitch flew around her head and ears and circled Harry's head before flying away and disappearing. Alysia didn't bother to watch where it went, knowing from experience that no matter how hard she watched, the Snitch would evade her. Seconds later, Madame Hooch tossed the Quaffle up in the air. Ron's younger sister Ginny caught it and the game began.  
  
"It's Weasley, Creevey, Finnigan, back to Weasley and SCORE! Gryffindor leads by ten points. . .Weatherbee recovers the ball, to Strong, to Weatherbee. . .ten points to Hufflepuff! MacMillan recovers. . .blocked by Cox! To Weasley, Creevey, Finnigan, Creevey, Finnigan. . .ohhh blocked by Abbott! Finnigan recovers, to Weasley. . .SCORE! Gryffindor leads. . .no, wait. . .Strong's stolen the ball from Creevey, to MacMillan. . .ten points to Hufflepuff!" Sydney was yelling. "MacMillan recovers. . .again! Ten points to Hufflepuff!" Alysia laughed and did a loop-de-loop in the air, only to finish and see that Gryffindor had scored again. Harry grinned at her and did a loop-de-loop of his own, then ducked as a Bludger rushed overhead.  
  
"Sorry!" Rupert Grant apologized to Harry as he flew overhead to recover the runaway Bludger. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor continued to score evenly against each other, though both teams were getting tired. Alysia was watching for the Snitch, when something else caught her eye. A hawk with a woman's face had landed on Harry's broom. The hawk's feathers glinted in the sun as it reached up a claw to strike Harry. Without thinking, Alysia whipped out her wand and fired sparks at the harpy. Harry whirled around to see the creature fall from the broom, only to recover and start hovering in the air near Harry's broom. She opened up her mouth and started to shriek and scream. Harry's broom started shaking violently, Harry almost being thrown several times. Alysia winced; the harpy's cry was almost painful. Several students were rushing from the stadium, as was the black dog. Alysia knew that in his dog form, her father could not stand severe sounds. For some reason, this made her angry. She rushed her broom forward so that it was underneath Harry's, yet out of the range of the harpy's voice. With little warning, Harry flipped off of the broom, dangling and holding on only by his hands. The harpy continued to shriek and the broom to shake. Alysia held onto the broom with one hand and with the other brandished her wand. Hoping she had remembered the correct spell, she pointed her wand at the harpy and cried, "Vox mortem!"  
  
A jet of white light burst from the end of her wand and hit the harpy in the throat. The shrieks stopped suddenly and she started coughing. Now without a voice, the harpy was confused. The Gryffindor beaters grabbed her by the wings and flew her down to the stands where Hagrid stood with a makeshift leash. He looped the leash around the harpy, tying her wings to her body so that she couldn't escape.  
  
But Harry was still dangling from his broom. "Alysia! Help me!" he exclaimed. "I can't hold on!"  
  
"Just let go and drop onto my broom! I'll catch you!" Alysia answered. Harry looked down and tried to time his fall perfectly. He missed, however, by only a few inches. Alysia let go of her broom and caught him just as he passed her. With great effort, she hoisted him onto her broom and ascended so that she was level with Harry's broom. He grabbed his broom and moved onto it. A cheer erupted from the entire stadium as the two flew off together.  
  
"Harry!" Alysia called as they were nearing the Gryffindor end of the field. He looked at her. "I have an idea. I don't want to lose, but I don't want you to lose either. I'm sure you feel the same way." Harry nodded. "Have you ever played a tie game?"  
  
Harry smiled and no more needed to be said. He spotted the Snitch and nodded to Alysia, who also saw it. "Grab the end of my broom," he ordered, doing just so to her broom. Then, they dove. The Snitch was flying quickly, but Harry and Alysia were just as fast on their matching Firebolts. Soon, the ends of their brooms were past the Snitch, which was flying between them. "When I say now, grab it!" Harry exclaimed. "Now!"  
  
Both of their steering hands left the brooms and clasped around the golden ball. For a moment, all was silent. Harry and Alysia looked at each other, slow smiled spreading across their faces. Sydney Jordan didn't seem to know what to make of the situation and was silent, until Harry and Alysia opened their hands to reveal the Snitch between them.  
  
"It's a tie! Potter and Karadhras catch the Snitch at the same time for a tie! Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are tied. . .and the game is over!" Sydney was exclaiming. "I don't think this has ever happened before. . .the final score is 190-190."  
  
Alysia laughed a happy laugh and dismounted from her broom. Harry did as well, and the two hugged in happy celebration. They were soon surrounded by their two teams, who seemed to think that the game could not have ended any better. Ron and Hermione hugged Harry and Alysia enthusiastically, and Hannah kissed them both on the cheek. Susan and Moira mobbed Alysia talking quickly and loudly, and Alysia had to forcibly look away to get them to shut up. Soon, her mother and the black dog had joined the group, her mother hugging first her, then Harry and praising them for a game well- played. The dog, "Snuffles", leapt on both her and Harry, lapping their faces and barking excitedly. The celebration began to head inside, and Alysia turned to see Draco standing off to the side. She excused herself from Harry's side (Harry rolled his eyes, but nodded understandingly) and ran over to Draco.  
  
"Well. . .I probably would have let Potter fall. And I wouldn't have settled for a tie. But for you, Alysia. . .it was a good game," he assessed, trying to sound unbiased. Alysia giggled and gave him an enormous hug. She was not surprised when he hugged her back, but she was surprised at the feelings that rushed through her. Strangely, she did not want Draco to let go. . .ever. But within a minute, he had, and she was heading back to the dining hall for a banquet.  
  
Late that night, Alysia, Harry, Ron and Hermione were talking in the library. Madame Pince kept looking at them impatiently, wanting to leave, but they were discussing important business. What had that harpy been doing on the field?  
  
"Harpies are native to Greece," Alysia commented, "though they have been spotted by the coast. But Hogwart's is nowhere near the coast."  
  
"So that explains it!" Hermione exclaimed. Everyone looked at her questioningly. "If you listened to the harpy's screams. . ."  
  
"I was too busy trying to keep my ears from bleeding," Ron muttered.  
  
". . .you would realize that she was screaming words. I couldn't understand the words, though, because they were in Greek. What could she have been saying?" Hermione now looked thoughtful.  
  
"Do you remember what the Greek words were, Hermione?" Alysia asked.  
  
"I think so. I'll start looking them up tomorrow." The others nodded.  
  
"It's starting to look like multi-special animals are targeting Harry. It's a good think your mum's covering them this year, Alysia," Ron stated. Alysia smiled, but something else was on her mind. If multi-special animals were targeting Harry, was Voldemort behind it? And if so, were she and her family still considered targets?  
  
A/N: My first Quidditch match! I hope it came out alright! I tried to make it as exciting as possible. And I hope I'm getting my info on harpies right! R/R Keep writing! 


	5. The Worst of Weeks

Chapter Five: The Worst of Weeks  
  
A week later, Alysia was staring at herself in a mirror, more specifically at the giant red bump that had grown on her chin overnight. She sighed to see how horrific her appearance had grown. Huge bags were under her eyes and her usually tan skin had lost most of its natural glow, now looking a sickly pale color. Her lips were chapped and her hair a mess of grease and split ends.  
  
Alysia blamed stress. Halloween had been a spectacular day, to say the very least. From the tie game to the feast to staying up late into the night with her friends, Alysia had enjoyed every minute of it. The next morning, however, the dazzling light began to fade.  
  
Her father started it all. He insisted that they meet for an early morning walk by the Dark Forest. Alysia wasn't too pleased about the idea and joined him only reluctantly. Usually when her father wanted to take an early morning walk with her, it was to lecture her on something, and she suspected she knew what that something was. Her guess had been dead on. After congratulating her on the Quidditch game and reliving a few of his memories as a Chaser, her father had told her that he was quite concerned about the relationship she was developing with Draco.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you? He's not his father!" Alysia had exclaimed.  
  
"I've heard nothing but bad about him from everyone, except you," he answered, and the argument went on from there. From her point of view, Alysia saw her father not trusting her judgment. He seemed to think he was protecting her from something horrible, and in the end, they'd both just stormed off, furious. Her father apologized to her later in the day, but Alysia knew they had resolved nothing.  
  
As he would every morning for the next week, Dumbledore showed up at breakfast and seemed to watch Alysia's every move with a stare that seemed to cut straight to her bone. He had spoken to her once since their last meeting, mentioning that her bravery cut her out for Gryffindor, her ambition for Slytherin, and her intellect for a teaching position. Alysia had thanked him but had once again explained that Hufflepuff was where she belonged (though she wasn't entirely sure that she believed it herself). Still, he seemed to disagree with her, and it was a bit unnerving. If that was the message he was trying to convey through his frightful stares, Alysia was getting it quite clearly. It sent chills down her spine.  
  
Matters regarding friendships were also going quite sourly. By Wednesday, Alysia was quite fed up with Draco's constant complaining about the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and anyone else who were not in Slytherin, she being the only exception. His comments would always end with a question of whether or not she should talk to Dumbledore about switching to Slytherin House. "After all," he would say, "you're just about the only Hufflepuff who's good enough to be there. Why are you in Hufflepuff anyway?"  
  
Alysia didn't bother to explain herself. She could only begin to imagine Draco's changed attitude towards her when he found out she was the spawn of a Hufflepuff and a Gryffindor, namely Anaral Karadhras and Sirius Black. She did, however, blow up at him that Wednesday when he mentioned how awful a house Hufflepuff was for the hundredth time and started divulging his plans to get Harry and friends expelled, Dumbledore fired or replaced, Hagrid imprisoned. . .  
  
"Draco Malfoy, enough!" Alysia snapped. "Open your eyes for once, try and see past your own nose. Maybe you'll notice that nothing is nearly as bad as you say!"  
  
At first, it was as if she'd slapped him with a dead fish. He looked shocked, to say the least, and a bit hurt. Then his face hardened again. "You're just like them. Stupid and common," he muttered and left the room. They hadn't spoken since.  
  
Harry, Ron and Hermione had decided this was a joyful fate that should be celebrated. Ron in particular was jubilant that Alysia had finally seen the light and how much of a jerk Draco Malfoy was. He'd hugged Alysia hard and asked her when she could talk to Dumbledore about transferring to Gryffindor. Hermione had been happy until she was forced to watch Ron embrace Alysia over and over. From then on, she'd barely looked at either of them and had only managed a small smile in Alysia's direction. After such a long and horrible day, she could only take so much of Ron's over- jubilation and Hermione's annoyance. She thanked Ron for stealing food from the kitchen for the little party they'd thrown her then left without saying good-bye to any of them.  
  
She wrote about it in her diary later that night. "It's as if they don't realize that this is not something I'm happy about," she wrote in an angry script about Harry and his friends. Her comments about Draco, though far worse than usual still held a ring of hope. "If only he would realize how much of a dolt he's being. But I doubt that will happen."  
  
Her mother seemed to notice that something was awry during class the next day. She gave Alysia a note halfway through class (which consisted of a very boring time of writing an essay on the differences between banshees, bean-nighes and cyroeraeths). It instructed her to come to her mother's office after classes so they could have tea. This made Alysia smile. Her entire life, whenever her mother had sensed something troubling her, she'd been happy to pour Alysia a cup of tea so they could talk about it. Now, Alysia needed that cup of tea more than anything else.  
  
Unfortunately, that cup of tea was not going to happen anytime soon. Following Defense Against the Dark Arts, Alysia had to stumble down to the dungeon for Potions. Professor Snape seemed much more vindictive than usual. He fumed when Susan Bones could not get her invisibility draught right (it instead turned Moira a strange hue of purple) and, noticing that the class period was over, barked that everyone was to write two and a half rolls of parchment on invisibility draughts. Alysia, who was doing nothing more than putting her supplies away, somehow attracted his attention. Snape leaned over her desk and said, in a low voice, "And you, Miss Karadhras, will have double that assignment."  
  
"What?" Alysia nearly dropped her cauldron. "Why? My draught was perfect! I don't have time to write five rolls of parchment. I don't think you can even write five rolls of parchment on invisibility draughts."  
  
"Five rolls, Miss Karadhras. Perhaps you should think of how much time you have before you insult one of my students again," Snape sneered. It suddenly made perfect sense. Draco was getting Snape to do his dirty work for him. Alysia was about to protest when Snape threw in, "Mention this to anyone and your secret will be school-wide knowledge."  
  
So she was stuck. All it would take was a word from Snape about her father to one of the Slytherins and the entire school would know that she, Alysia Karadhras, was the daughter of an escaped convict. Echoes of hexes put on her in the play group bounced around her head as she shuffled to the library and asked Madame Pince for every book on invisibility draughts that she could find. Surprisingly, there were quite a few and Alysia stayed in the library late into the night, writing until her hand was cramped. All the while, a disturbing thought plagued her. Had Snape told Draco about her father? Perhaps Draco had complained to Snape about her and Snape had "accidentally" let her parentage slip. The idea was so horrible that Alysia nearly started to cry. The hexes would be starting again any day now.  
  
Exhausted, she'd dragged herself to bed as it was well past one o'clock in the morning. The next day, she woke with a start. The room was completely silent and the sun was high in the sky. A look at the room's clock told her that she'd slept in too late; it was nearly noon! Within five minutes, she'd dressed and collected her things. She arrived in Divination just in time for Professor Trelawney to say, in a misty voice, "Ah yes. I knew you would be late, Miss Karadhras."  
  
"Like hell you did," Alysia said rudely, realizing too late that she'd spoken aloud. She clapped a hand over her mouth, hearing a surprised gasp from the rest of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Draco smirking. Professor Trelawney looked as if she'd never been more shocked in her life, but at that point, Alysia couldn't care less. She simply turned on her heel and left the classroom, not heeding the stares of the other students. Normally, she found Divination tolerable and even amusing, but after this week, she could not stand one minute in the same room with Sibyll Trelawney. She stormed from the room to the edge of the Dark Forest, making sure that not a hair was actually in the forest, lest Fidelina come charging out again. She was just tired of everything. Tired of her parents. Tired of Draco. Tired of Professor Snape. Tired of Harry and his friends. Tired of Fidelina. So there she stayed, at the edge of the Dark Forest, until nightfall. Then, she shuffled up to her room and fell into a fitful sleep, not bothering to even think about supper or what lay ahead.  
  
And now it was Saturday. The tie game in Quidditch had been a week ago, and Hannah Abbott had been so proud of the team that she'd given them the Saturday off from practice. Good thing too, Alysia thought, touching the monster on her chin. She didn't want anyone to see her like this.  
  
Unfortunately, that choice was not hers to make. There was a knock on the girls' bathroom door and Professor Sprout came in. "Alysia, your mother wants to see you in her office," she said quietly. Alysia nodded and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. Moments later, she was hurrying through the door to her mother's office. There was no black dog this time. Just her mother, smiling and holding a pot of tea stood there.  
  
"Hi, Baby Girl. Want some tea?" she asked.  
  
That did it. Alysia plopped down in one of her mother's overstuffed armchairs and burst into tears. Her mother put the teapot down and pulled her into the embrace she'd needed all week. Barely pausing for breath, she let the problems of the entire week tumble out while her mother nodded understandingly and stroked her hair. When she'd finished, Alysia looked at her mother with damp eyes and sniffed.  
  
"So what am I supposed to do? I don't think Dad and I will ever understand each other. I don't think that Dumbledore will ever stop staring at me. I don't think that Draco will ever talk to me again and I don't think that I can stand Ron hating Draco or Hermione being jealous of Ron hugging me or. . ." Alysia babbled.  
  
"Sweetie, you don't have to do anything," her mother replied, gently putting her hand on Alysia's shoulder. "Your father is as stubborn as a mule, but he's not made of stone. If Draco really has good in him, your father will see it in time. There really isn't much you can do about Dumbledore. He's a strange man, but he tends to know what's best for you. As for Draco, give him time. If he really cares about you, he'll come around. You can't change Ron's feelings; only he can do that. And if Hermione knows that there is nothing between you and Ron, there's nothing you can do about her being jealous, either." Alysia scowled and her mother laughed. "I'm sorry, I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, is it Baby Girl?"  
  
"Not exactly," Alysia admitted. "Where's Daddy?"  
  
"I sent him to Hogsmeade for the day. If you want, we can meet him up at the Shrieking Shack for supper," her mother suggested.  
  
"That would work." Alysia paused for a second before asking, "Can we have that tea now?"  
  
Her mother laughed and poured her a cupful. For the next several hours, they caught up on what was going on in their lives so far that school year. Her mother mentioned that Draco was a rather rude student to have in class, but a rather smart one as well. Alysia mentioned that while Draco was rude and prejudiced, he also usually treated her with kindness. Her mother also talked about how Dumbledore was working on finding Peter Pettigrew and bringing her father's trial back to the high court.  
  
"With Pettigrew there for everyone to see, your father would be a free man," her mother pointed out, a smile lighting up her face. She then became more serious. "Things are getting worse in the wizarding world. Another two families were killed this week and dozens of people have been going missing. It's a good thing we're here at Hogwart's."  
  
"Is it? I mean, is it that much safer here? We seem to be getting a whole lot of multi-special visitors lately," Alysia pointed out. "I just hope the harpy is the last of them."  
  
"I was very proud of the way you took care of that harpy, Alysia." Her mother took another sip of tea. "I daresay you are earning some extra credit in Defense Against the Dark Arts!"  
  
"Mum, that's favoritism!" Alysia laughed. It felt good to laugh after so many days of not laughing.  
  
Supper that night went relatively well. Her father apologized once again and promised to try and see things her way. Somehow, after talking to her mother, Alysia found this more believable. Still, it seemed pointless as she doubted Draco would ever speak to her again. Halfway through supper, Harry showed up, to Alysia's mild surprise.  
  
"I thought we could have a nice evening together as a family," Anaral explained as Harry sat down at the table (the legs of which had been severely chewed by Remus Lupin decades before). "Even though we can't legally adopt Harry yet, he's just as much a part of this family as you are, Alysia."  
  
"Yes, Mum," Alysia answered, passing Harry a bowl of mashed potatoes.  
  
Harry and Alysia headed back together that night; Sirius and Anaral seemed to want to stay behind by themselves, and Alysia, having experience in these matters, was quite willing to lead Harry down the passageway to the Whomping Willow. It had rained the night before, so the ground above them was damp and dripping, and about five minutes into the trek, the two were completely spattered with mud and laughing heartily. They quieted down some and Harry looked at Alysia sideways.  
  
"Are you okay, Aly? You seemed pretty upset the night you and Draco had your fight," he observed.  
  
"Oh, so you noticed? You weren't too busy celebrating my return to the light side?" Alysia laughed.  
  
"I did notice. I know he's a rat and everything, but you seem to really care about him. I'm sorry he hurt you." Harry ducked under a tree root and paused while Alysia did the same.  
  
"I've had worse," Alysia admitted.  
  
"Does he treat you well, though? I mean, besides what's happened this week." Alysia thought for a moment. She couldn't really say that Draco treated her badly. His worst flaw was his arrogant snobbery, which was never really against her. Each time they went for a walk, he would pick flowers for her and would sometimes show insight and kindness by talking about something other than the downfall of all those with whom he disagreed.  
  
"Yes. Draco treats me well," she admitted. The tunnel started to move uphill and she and Harry were soon panting for breath and abandoning all conversation to concentrate on the task at hand.  
  
"I don't know. . .if Crookshanks will be there. . .to stop the Whomping Willow. . ." Alysia panted. "We. . .might have to. . .make a run for it."  
  
"Run?" Harry gasped. "I don't know. . .if I can even. . .walk anymore."  
  
"Your life. . .may depend on it!" Alysia stopped as they reached the trap door and listened for a minute. "I think it's safe. Let's go."  
  
She pushed open the trap door and saw that the Whomping Willow was standing quite still. Crookshanks gave her a kitty smile as she pushed through the ground and gave Harry a hand. It was then that it became clear that they were not alone. Professor Snape was staring at them with utmost disgust as they climbed out of the tunnel. "What do you want?" Alysia asked him.  
  
"I find it rather amusing, Miss Karadhras, to see you and Mr. Potter coming out of a secret passage to Hogsmeade without the permission and attendance of a professor," Snape sneered. "It would almost seem like you were trying to get a detention."  
  
"We were having supper with Professor Karadhras and Sirius," Harry explained in a low voice. "We have Professor Karadhras' permission."  
  
"Is that so? Well, then, I shall just have to ask her about that myself," Snape answered, starting towards the school.  
  
"She's not there!" Alysia exclaimed. "She's still in Hogsmeade."  
  
"How convenient," Snape countered with a disgusting smile. "Until then, ten points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for sneaking out."  
  
"We didn't. . .!" Alysia began, but Snape silenced her with a glance.  
  
"Perhaps you'd rather I make it fifty?" he asked, and Alysia could do nothing but glare at him until he'd sauntered back to the castle victoriously. Without thinking, Alysia transfigured into her falcon form and left a little surprise on Snape's robe. She returned to her human form beside Harry who was nearly doubled over laughing.  
  
"That's brilliant," he managed between gasps of laughter. Alysia laughed too, once she had recovered.  
  
"It's a gift."  
  
They reached the castle in a companionable silence only to find chaos once inside. A large crowd had gathered outside of the banquet hall, many people screaming and others simply coughing. It seemed that there was a large fire inside and no one quite knew what had started it. While most of the students had been hurried out, many were still inside, trapped by a wall of high flames that barred the doorway. Alysia could hear them screaming.  
  
"Isn't anyone going to do anything?" she finally cried above the shouts of the other students. Everyone looked at her as if she'd sprouted another head. Inside, the students were still screaming and everyone was just staring at Alysia and then behind her. The professors had arrived. They pushed through the crowd of students and began dowsing the flames with water that seemed to burst from the ends of their wands. Before long, nothing was left of the fire but a damaged banquet hall and an eerie blue smoke rising from the walls and floors. Alysia and Harry pushed to the front of the coup of teachers and students, realizing that their friends were not in the crowd. Before they could see anything, Madame Pomfrey and half a dozen other nurses brushed by, conjuring up stretchers as they went. One by one, the stretchers started coming out.  
  
Ron was on one of them, but he seemed fine. He spotted Harry and Alysia as he passed and motioned for them to follow the parade of stretchers to the hospital wing. Hermione was just behind him, the corners of her robes and hair singed. She managed a brave smile at Harry and Alysia before disappearing around the corner. A few more students that Alysia did not recognize were brought out, and she and Harry were about to leave and head for the hospital wing, when something caught her eye and made her grab Harry's arm for support.  
  
Draco's stretcher floated past. He wasn't moving.  
  
A/N: Oooh the suspense! Poor Aly's having a rough time. More later, R/R! 


	6. Needed

Chapter Six: Needed  
  
Never before in its history had the hospital wing of Hogwart's been so full. Nearly two-dozen students had been brought up as a result of the fire. Draco was one of the unfortunate few who seemed to be critically hurt. Those students had been separated from the rest of the world by a strange rigging of mismatched curtains, which the nurses were constantly pulling aside and closing as they tended the worst patients.  
  
Ron and Hermione had managed to escape with only a slight cough and minor burns, respectively. Still, Madam Pomfrey insisted that she inspect them thoroughly before allowing Harry and Alysia to come and talk to them. When she'd finally finished her twelve-points inspection, Harry and Alysia stumbled over themselves to sit on the edges of Ron and Hermione's beds and hear exactly what happened that night at supper.  
  
"It was a minotaur," Hermione announced.  
  
"A minotaur? That's impossible! There was only one minotaur ever in existence, and that was ages ago in Greece!" Alysia protested, but Hermione shook her head.  
  
"There was nothing else it could have been. It was as tall as Hagrid with a man's body and a bull's head. It was snorting and glaring at us all, knocking people's chairs over, pushing people down. Dumbledore was calm as could be, and asked the minotaur what he wanted. . ." Hermione explained and Ron interrupted her.  
  
"It got all mad and said, 'Where's Harry Potter?' When Dumbledore wouldn't tell him, the minotaur got all furious and breathed fire on the tables. They all caught fire really quickly," he recalled aloud. "Most of us jumped out of the way, but a few of us seemed too scared to move." He fixed his gaze on Hermione who blushed through the soot that stained her cheeks.  
  
"I guess. . .I guess I was too much in shock to do much of anything. If Ron hadn't pulled me away from the table. . ." she trailed off and looked in the direction of the critical patients. One of them seemed to have woken up and was screaming as the nurses applied burn cream to his wounds. Alysia shuddered.  
  
"So this is my fault," Harry stated, seeming afraid of the thought. "This all happened because of me."  
  
"Well. . .not entirely," Ron admitted. Hermione sent him a glance, but he kept talking. "The minotaur was looking for you, too, Alysia."  
  
"Me!" Alysia exclaimed, whether from shock or fright she was uncertain. "What makes you say that?"  
  
"It asked about the falcon girl," Hermione explained. "Why are they looking for you, too?"  
  
"The same reason they're looking for my father, I suppose," Alysia answered in a low voice. "Voldemort has always considered us a threat to his cause. As much as the Potters, I guess."  
  
Ron shook his head. "It's crazy, the way I seem to make friends with the unluckiest people," he muttered. "Anyway, Alysia, that's not all."  
  
"Draco went chasing after the minotaur after it set the place on fire. I guess he figured he would stop it from trying to find you or something. The minotaur threw him against a wall, then tore down the banner from over the doorway and caught that on fire, too. Then, it was gone." Hermione looked over at the curtains. "He looked like he'd gotten hurt pretty badly."  
  
Alysia was silent from that point on. Harry, Ron and Hermione were telling and retelling the story, trying to analyze who or what was behind it, but she just kept looking back over at the curtains. Once in a while, a nurse would come rushing out or go flying in, bearing whatever magical cures they could find to help the people behind the curtain. Eventually the flow of nurses in and out of the curtained area slowed to a trickle then stopped altogether. The patients were slowly moved to their own individual curtained off area as the night continued. Madam Pomfrey grew sick of seeing Harry and Alysia with her patients and shooed them out into the hallway where Anaral was waiting.  
  
"Thank goodness you two are alright! Madam Pomfrey said you were both in here. . .it's almost one o'clock in the morning! Come on, we're all wanted in Dumbledore's office." Anaral always talked quickly when she was upset or nervous about something, and tonight was no exception. She hurried Harry and Alysia down the hall and past the gargoyle to Dumbledore's office. Sirius was already there, in his human form, looking grave, as was Professor Snape. Dumbledore sat at his desk, stroking Fawkes the Phoenix. Everyone looked very somber. Sirius jumped out of his chair upon seeing Alysia and Harry and ran to them. He hugged Alysia as tightly as he could, causing a memory to resurface of the day they'd been reunited three years before.  
  
"I heard about the fire and I thought the worst!" he exclaimed, kissing the top of her head. "Thank goodness you're alright."  
  
Alysia had always underestimated the affect her father's hugs had on her. Usually, she shied away from them, but once he'd hugged her tightly, she got the distinct impression that the world would soon right itself, no matter what was wrong. That night was no exception. As her father went on to hug Harry, Alysia knew that somehow, things would come out right in the end.  
  
Sirius had by now finished hugging Harry and had turned to Dumbledore. "My children are being stalked by multi-special creatures. What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Dumbledore seemed not to hear him, but continued stroking Fawkes thoughtfully. Everyone stared at him, wondering what the old wizard was thinking. Finally, he looked back at Sirius and said, "I am going to do nothing."  
  
"Nothing?!" Usually Anaral Karadhras was quiet and very much able to keep her emotions under control, but Dumbledore stating that he would do nothing to prevent her children from being killed was too much to bear. "How can you do nothing? It's been only a week between attacks and you're proposing to do nothing?!"  
  
"Nothing, Anaral, until we get to the bottom of these attacks. I do not wish to act rashly and put Harry and Alysia in more danger. Severus, I trust, is keeping a close eye on the inside?" He raised his eyebrows at Snape, who nodded curtly. "Good. Then I shall do nothing. I will ask something of Harry and Alysia, however." They looked at him curiously. "Never go anywhere alone or solely with one another. Make sure that you have someone else with you at all times."  
  
They looked at each other, feeling that their lives had just become ever so much more boring. But how could they argue with the headmaster? They nodded.  
  
"Very well. Alysia, I would like to speak to you alone for a moment. The rest of you may go," Professor Dumbledore announced. Alysia had a feeling she knew what he was going to speak to her about. But to her surprise, she was quite wrong. As everyone left the room, Dumbledore looked at her with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"It seems to me, Miss Karadhras, that you have developed quite a friendship with Mr. Draco Malfoy." If Dumbledore had revealed himself as Voldemort's secret agent inside the school, Alysia would have been less surprised. As it was, she simply stared at him in complete shock. "Are the rumors true?"  
  
"I. . .I guess so. We had a sort of. . .well, falling out you might say, but. . ." Alysia stammered, not quite sure how to respond to the question.  
  
"I'm glad to hear it," Dumbledore responded with a bright smile. "Alysia, you are the type of person who would have a wonderful influence on someone like him. I've been very concerned for him for several years now." Alysia cocked her head at him, confusedly. "His father has a great deal of influence on him, I'm afraid, and could conceivably convince him to join Voldemort when he is old enough."  
  
"Old enough?" Alysia asked, but Dumbledore put up a hand. Clearly, this was no time for questions.  
  
"No matter what, Alysia, stick by him. He needs your kind of strong friendship." Dumbledore looked at her gravely. "It may save him from a fate worse than death."  
  
Alysia had some idea what Dumbledore was talking about, but decided not to pursue the matter. Instead, she stood and left the office, walking slowly back to the hospital wing and sneaking more quietly than a mouse back through the door. At the far end was a set of curtains, parted slightly to reveal a boy lying on a cot, sleeping soundly, if not comfortably. Alysia, making sure no one was watching, sneaked through the curtains and sat on the stool next to Draco's bed. She sighed. How could someone so hard to like need her friendship so desperately? Could she possibly change him? After their argument on Wednesday, she doubted it, and yet something had still made him chase after that minotaur.  
  
"Why?" she asked aloud. "I don't understand. Why me? You can't pretend that you would have gone after that thing to protect Harry or Hermione or even Crabbe or Goyle. What's so special about me? Is it because I'm pretty? If that's why, you should have a good look at me when I get up in the morning, before my hair is brushed and my face washed."  
  
Alysia wasn't sure what prompted her to say that, but she laughed. Then, she suddenly grew somber again. "If you knew who my father was, Draco Malfoy, you would never speak to me again. You probably think he's guilty as sin, or worse, that he's a threat to Voldemort. You'd be right on the second count, naturally. But my father never killed anyone. Never."  
  
She folded her hands in her lap and looked out the window next to Draco's cot. "It's funny, isn't it, how our fathers were such rivals at school? I've never quite understood why, though. Then again, I never understand why there is anything bad in the world, when there is so much more good to be seen. Does it make any sense to you?"  
  
Naturally, Draco didn't respond, and Alysia was beginning to feel a bit odd about her one-sided conversation with the nearly comatose patient. "I still don't understand it," she finally sighed, "why I'm the one who can influence you when no one else can. Why is it, Draco Malfoy?"  
  
Throughout the remainder of the night, there was no response.  
  
Somehow, Alysia thought as she began to wake up the next morning, my bed has gotten far too uncomfortable. It was then that she realized that she was not in a bed. She was still sitting on the chair in Draco's little chamber, her head resting next to his on the cot. And she was not alone. Staring at her with a pointed face and cold gray eyes was a man who could only be Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy. She drew in breath with a little gasp of shock.  
  
"Alysia Karadhras. You look just like your mother. . .your father too, unfortunately," Lucius drawled, an unpleasant smile coming across his face. "And coming to visit my son. How fortunate he should perceive himself, to have the daughter of a convict and a former close friend by his bedside."  
  
Alysia said nothing, not trusting the words that might come out of her mouth. She pushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked listlessly at Draco, who was still unconscious. Finally, when her anger had subsided sufficiently, she asked in a low voice, "When did you get here?"  
  
"Several hours ago. You look so much like your mother when you sleep. The same soft breaths, the same pallid skin. . ." he trailed off running a cold finger down her jaw line. "It is a sight I remember well."  
  
Alysia felt bile rising to her throat. She stood abruptly to leave. "I suggest, Mr. Malfoy, that you leave my mother out of any further conversations you might have with me," she growled, but he caught her arm as reached the curtains.  
  
"My son seems genuinely impressed with you, which is more than I can say about your mother. Hurt him, and you and your family will pay," Lucius threatened. Alysia wrenched her arm out of his grip.  
  
"More than we already have because of you and your 'associates'? It isn't possible," she snapped and brushed out of the room. She could only hope that she, and not Mr. Malfoy, would be at Draco's bedside when he finally woke up. As it was, she ran into Madam Pomfrey on the way out the door.  
  
"Have you been in there all night?" she gasped. Alysia nodded.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Lucius Malfoy is in there now," she answered. Madam Pomfrey looked shocked and hurried back into the infirmary. Moments later, she was practically pushing a cross-looking Lucius Malfoy out the door.  
  
"He is in no state to have visitors! I'm surprised at you. . .someone of your standing ought to know better!" she clucked, sounding much like a mother hen. There was nothing Mr. Malfoy could do but follow her orders and leave the infirmary. Alysia smirked at him as she passed, going back to Hufflepuff for a bath and a change of clothes.  
  
Two hours later, dressed and clean, she sneaked back through the doors of the infirmary. Several of the patients from the previous night were sitting up and talking, but she still couldn't make out anything behind the curtains that separated Draco from the rest of the room. Ignoring the hushed voices that followed her, she strode straight to the curtains and slipped inside.  
  
Much to her surprise, Draco was not only awake, but sitting up and reading a book. He looked up when she came in and seemed surprised to see her. Finally, he found his voice. "Hello, Alysia," he managed.  
  
"Hello," she replied. "Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Besides the splitting headache, yes." Another thought seemed to strike him. "So you're alright then! The minotaur didn't find you."  
  
"No. It didn't," Alysia answered quietly. "I was in Hogsmeade with my mother."  
  
"And it didn't find you? You didn't even see it?" he asked, sounding worried.  
  
"Not at all. Not even a hint of it," she replied. She was quite unprepared for what happened next. Draco took her by the arms and pulled her to him, kissing her firmly on the lips.  
  
It wasn't that she'd never been kissed before. Alysia had kissed and been kissed plenty of times before, by Muggles and wizards alike. There was something odd about this kiss, though, and she discovered why when they parted.  
  
"I didn't mean to do that," Draco admitted, leaning back in his bed. "I'm sorry. I was just. . .relieved."  
  
Usually, the boys Alysia kissed did mean to kiss her. And she could tell. Even if they said, "I didn't mean to," there was something about the kiss that told her that they did mean to. Draco's kiss had been different; it had felt relieved and happy, but not passionate or lustful. It had been a real kiss.  
  
"I know you didn't," she answered. "But you needn't apologize."  
  
For a moment, they sat in silence. Then, Alysia spoke up. "Your father is here, somewhere," she stated colorlessly. "I saw him this morning."  
  
"Oh no," Draco groaned. "He didn't upset you or anything, did he?"  
  
"No." Alysia hesitated to mention anything further. Draco couldn't find out who her father was. She wouldn't let him.  
  
It didn't seem, however, that she had much choice. At that moment, Lucius Malfoy swept through the curtains and fixed his stare on Alysia. "Well, Miss Karadhras. It seems you are unable to keep yourself away," he drawled.  
  
"I was just leaving," Alysia answered, standing up and pushing through the curtains, giving Draco a little wave good-bye. Instead of leaving the infirmary, however, she sat down in a chair beside an empty bed to eavesdrop. Though she couldn't hear all of the conversation, she did catch snatches of it.  
  
"So like her mother," Lucius was saying. "So easy to ensnare, so desperate for affection."  
  
"Aly's not like that, Dad," Draco replied, and their tones became hushed again. Moments later, their voices rose again angrily.  
  
"You don't actually care for the girl, do you? How stupid can you be?" Lucius shouted.  
  
Draco didn't answer, and shortly thereafter, Lucius stormed from the infirmary, slamming the door behind him. Alysia was frozen to her seat for a moment, but eventually stood and went in to Draco, who was staring out the window sullenly. He seemed to know she was there without looking up.  
  
"My father's a genius on some things. He knows that some wizards are better than others and that Muggles are so. . .common. But. . .I don't know. He doesn't seem to understand me," Draco complained. Alysia didn't answer, but put her hand on his, reassuringly.  
  
Morning faded into afternoon and afternoon into evening. Anaral had been in and out of the hospital wing several times, bringing food to Alysia and Draco; smiling sweetly even Draco made faces at the chocolate chip cookies she'd made. Alysia found this amusing, but her smile faded when Lucius Malfoy returned. He sneered at Alysia. "Still here are you?" he drawled. Draco looked annoyed, but Alysia set her jaw.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, I am still here and I do not intend to leave anytime in the near future," she told him, making sure the haughtiness in her voice matched his note for note. Before he could respond, however, in either a good or bad manner, Anaral made her way into the enclosure, bearing chicken noodle soup.  
  
"Courtesy of Mrs. Weasley. . ." her voice seemed caught in her throat. "Lucius."  
  
"Anaral, my dear. It's been too long," Lucius drawled in a sickeningly sweet voice. He reached for her hand to kiss it, but Anaral folded her arms.  
  
"Stay away from my daughter, you snake," she spat at him. "You did me enough damage, now leave my daughter alone."  
  
"Ana, darling, she is here of her own volition, aren't you Alysia?" Lucius asked in a voice that dripped insincerity like honey.  
  
"I'm here to visit Draco and I'm not leaving him just to appease a rat like yourself," Alysia growled, wishing very much that her mother would take her lion form and reduce Lucius to a pile of bloody rags. She didn't, however, simply standing still and giving him a poisonous stare.  
  
"I don't suppose you ever told Alysia about our friendship, did you Anaral?" Lucius asked, sneeringly.  
  
Now Anaral's eyes flashed dangerously. "It was a mockery of anything real. You're not half the man my husband is." Without saying another word, she ran from the enclosure, chicken noodle soup sloshing out of the bowls.  
  
Lucius seemed to think he had won, but when he turned around to face Alysia and Draco, it was clear he was mistaken. Draco looked indifferent, but Alysia was in a rage. She had pulled her wand from her robes and was pointing it menacingly at Lucius.  
  
"If you ever come near my mother again, I will personally see to it that there is nothing left of you for the Ministry of Magic to find. Do I make myself clear?" Lucius looked at first amused, but when Alysia didn't put her wand away, he bowed to her mockingly and left the infirmary. Only then did Alysia relax and slip her wand back inside her robes. Draco was staring at her, she realized, but she didn't look at him.  
  
"Your father," she finally managed, "deserves whatever punishment the Ministry of Magic has come up with for Death Eaters. I know he's your father and all, but he's a horrid, cruel man. I hope you don't turn out like him."  
  
Alysia did not want to have to face the comments and stares of the other girls in the Hufflepuff bedroom, but it seemed she had no choice. Rather than taking her time getting ready for bed like most of the girls did, Alysia changed quickly into her pajamas and closed her bed curtains around her, even though Susan and Moira were pestering her with questions. Presently, she fell into a deep sleep, one filled with vivid dreams.  
  
In the most vivid of all, Alysia found herself in a church, dressed in the finest white robes she'd ever seen. There were flowers and music all around as her father walked her down a long aisle. Harry, Ron and Hermione were standing around the altar and Susan and Moira were sitting nearby, weeping loudly. Her mother was sitting in the front row, tears streaming silently down her cheeks. Alysia looked to the front of the church and saw Draco standing there. Her heart tap-danced a little as she took her place and Professor Dumbledore began to preside.  
  
"Do you, Alysia, take Draco to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to allow him to use and abuse you, never truly caring for you, just as his father never cared for your mother? Do you take the Dark Mark and forsake everything your parents stood for and everything your godparents died for? Say 'I do,'" Dumbledore recited. Alysia froze.  
  
"I. . ." she started, but couldn't make the second word come out. In an instant, Draco was holding a dagger to her throat.  
  
"Say it or it's the end of you," he growled. Alysia screamed herself awake and nearly jumped out of her skin to see a black dog lying by the foot of her bed. Most wizards would find this a bad omen, but Alysia knew her father, even in the dark. He wagged his tail once and jumped up on her bed. Alysia wrapped her arms around the black dog's neck and let the tears she'd been holding in all day drip onto his furry coat.  
  
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A/N: And the beat goes on, I'm just crankin' these chapters out! Do Anaral and Lucius have a past? What kind of past? Ooooh it gets better every day! R/R 


	7. Falling Through Glass

Chapter Seven: Falling through Glass  
  
It had been more than a week since the minotaur's attack, and Draco was finally released from the hospital wing. His fellow Slytherins decided to throw a party in honor of the occasion. Alysia, not surprisingly, was not invited to join them. It didn't bother her very much; she would rather hang out with anyone but the Slytherins. It did, however, seem to bother Draco very much. So, she just pretended not to hear him complaining. She knew that, had the circumstances been different, he wouldn't have cared at all. Still, deciding not to let that fact or her exclusion from the party bother her, Alysia gave Draco an encouraging hug as he went off to celebrate. She needed to ask her mother some questions, anyway.  
  
Lucius Malfoy had been back in the hospital wing several times that week, to Alysia's immense annoyance. She managed to avoid him as much as possible, using the times when he came to visit Draco as times to do homework or get something to eat. It also helped that the man came generally during class time. On the few occasions that she refused to leave, however, he seemed to take great pleasure in insinuating the worst things about Alysia's mother. At this point, she was both curious and fed up. Lucius Malfoy couldn't be telling the truth. . .could he? Alysia had to know.  
  
It was yet another Saturday, two weeks since the fateful Quidditch match. After Quidditch practice, Alysia changed quickly, wished Draco luck at his party and hurried up to her mother's office. The door was closed, so she knocked tentatively. There was no answer. She paused for a second, contemplating whether or not she should go in then pushed the door open. It was quite disheartening to see her mother sitting at her desk, her face in her hands, weeping quietly. It was a scene very familiar to Alysia; for the twelve years her father was in Azkaban, her mother had wept like this very often.  
  
"Mum?" she asked quietly. Her mother looked up, wiping tears from her face. "Are you alright? They didn't find Dad, did they. . .?" She trailed off noticing the huge black dog with its head in her mother's lap. He wagged his tail politely.  
  
"No, Aly. It's nothing like that," her mother answered in a choked voice.  
  
"No one's died, have they?" Alysia asked, now more confused than ever. Her mother shook her head and took a deep, wavering breath.  
  
"Aly, sweetheart, I. . .I made some mistakes during my time here at Hogwart's," she said softly. "I never imagined they'd come back to haunt me after so much time. . ."  
  
Alysia left the doorway and came to sit in one of her mother's overstuffed armchairs. She wasn't sure what to think. With another deep breath, her mother began.  
  
"It was my fifth year-I was a year behind your father and his friends, but I adored them. Up until later that year, I'd assumed that they only thought of me as an endearing tagalong and nothing more." Anaral got a faraway look in her eyes. "I was impressed with James and Remus, and occasionally even with Peter. And Lily was just beautiful and everything I wanted to be. But Sirius. . .there was something more about him that I'd noticed. Something that made me look for him even when the other Marauders weren't around. I didn't know it until later that year, but he felt the same way about me.  
  
Around mid-November, I was heading to class and Lucius Malfoy stepped in my way. Draco looks so much like he did. It was shocking; the first day I had him in class. Anyway, he told me that he'd overheard Sirius saying to James and Remus that he couldn't figure out why I always followed them around. He guessed I had a crush on him, but thought it was ridiculous as he thought I was disgusting. He was, in fact, planning on asking Heather Thomas-Dean's aunt-on a date."  
  
Her mother paused as the black dog whimpered slightly and put his head on her lap. She turned teary eyes to him and scratched behind his ears.  
  
"I had nothing else to go by. I loved your father so much that it blinded me. So I believed what Lucius said. I was brokenhearted and furious all at the same time. In my mind, your father had led me on. It was Lucius' idea. He tricked me into. . .into doing some. . .many things that I regretted with him. And it was not a one-time deal.  
  
Lucius, you see, was very jealous of your father and James, in particular their skills on the Quidditch pitch and that Lily Evans held them in such high regard. He knew that Sirius had feelings for me, and he wanted to make him jealous. That year, he did. He made sure that Sirius saw us once or twice.  
  
Somewhere in there, it was Lily who solved it all. I had somehow decided that she was involved in the whole thing. I'd refused to talk to her since Lucius had told me his lies about Sirius. She finally cornered me one day after classes one day and demanded to know why I was doing this to Sirius. 'You know he's crazy about you, Ana. Why are you rubbing you and Lucius' relationship in his face?'  
  
I told her she was completely wrong, that Sirius was with Heather Thomas and that he had used me. Then Lily took me by the shoulders and said, 'Ana. Sirius has been in love with you from the day you came to this school.' I could tell she wasn't kidding by the way she said it. I burst into tears."  
  
This is what Anaral did at that moment. Alysia wasn't quite sure what to do. Finally, she spoke up. "Well, Dad obviously forgave you, right?" she said in a voice that sounded oddly loud.  
  
Her mother nodded, sniffling. "Oh, he did. But the damage had already been done, in Lucius' mind. He constantly rubbed it in both of our faces, and now. . ."  
  
A knock at the door made them all jump. Sirius bared his teeth and growled as Lucius Malfoy sauntered in. Anaral made no move to get up, but Alysia jumped out of her seat, her wand gripped in her hand tightly. "Get away from my mother," she uttered, barely moving her lips, "or there won't be enough of you left to suggest you'd ever lived."  
  
Lucius clucked his tongue. "So feisty, but I can assure you there will be no need for wands today. I simply came to bid you all a fond farewell," he drawled, an oily smile playing on his face. He gazed over the top of Alysia's head at her mother, who stared back at him through narrowed eyes. The dog at her feet was now standing, his teeth bared. As Lucius took a step forward, the dog barked loudly and he backed up, looking a bit startled. He bobbed his head to Alysia and Anaral then backed out of the room, the door slamming behind him. Sirius was back in human form immediately.  
  
"Every time I see him, I could just. . ." he broke off as Anaral placed a hand on his arm.  
  
"Sirius. I don't want you in Azkaban for another twelve years. Lucius is harmless-cruel, but harmless," she told him softly, but gave Alysia a warning glance as she spoke. A glance that said, "Be careful of that man, Alysia."  
  
She didn't need to say it out loud. Alysia got the meaning very clearly and was still thinking about it that night at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was a full moon, and had she not been brought up in constant close contact with Remus Lupin, she would have feared the howls that filled the Forest. She had, however, and so felt completely safe to be walking along the edge of the Forest, completely unsure of what drew her there.  
  
It was a typical late autumn night, the dry, dead leaves scratching against each other as the wind blew. Dark clouds scuttled across the full moon. It was the kind of night that scary stories are made of, and Alysia loved it. It was perfect thinking weather. Making sure not to seem even partway within the Forest, she made her way to the tree she'd been climbing since school began to write in her diary and think. As she approached the tree, something made her stop.  
  
There was Draco Malfoy, sitting in what Alysia had deemed "her tree" watching her walk. He didn't look surprised to see her; in fact, he looked as if he'd been expecting her. And he was smiling.  
  
"Hey," he said in a hushed voice. Alysia didn't answer or move from her position. Her dreams earlier that week and Lucius' visit that afternoon had awoken nervousness in her. Her hands reached for her wand, subconsciously. The cool wood comforted her. Draco looked confused.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked. "You look upset."  
  
Alysia still didn't answer. She wasn't sure what to say. Was Draco just like his father? Was he simply using her? She didn't take her eyes off of him as he jumped down from the tree and recoiled when he reached for her. Now he looked concerned.  
  
"Alysia, what's wrong?" he demanded, slowly. "Has my father been to see your mother again? What did he say this time?"  
  
She finally spoke. "It's true, what he's been saying about my mother. It's all true," she choked on a lump in her throat. "It's all true." He reached for her again, but Alysia pulled back even further, covering her face with one hand and sobbing. Draco stared at her and finally spoke up quietly.  
  
"I'm not my father, Alysia. He's a genius and all, but I'm not my father. I wouldn't hurt you like that," he told her in a firm voice. "I care about you."  
  
"Why?" Alysia whispered. "Why do you care about me? If you only knew. . ."  
  
"Knew what? Why would it matter? You're smart and beautiful and funny and you seem not to care what anyone thinks about you or who your friends are. That's why I care." Draco turned away and looked off into the woods, seemingly angry. "My father did this to you, didn't he?"  
  
Alysia didn't answer. She didn't need to answer. Draco turned back around, and she let him hug her for a long moment. Finally, he pulled away, whispering, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be." Alysia pulled away. "You're not your father."  
  
"You're right. I'm not," Draco answered, seeming as if he wanted to say more, but suddenly stopping and looking at Alysia's legs in a confused sort of way. "Why do they let you wear pants?"  
  
Alysia laughed hoarsely. "There's no rule saying that girls must wear skirts. Most people don't realize this, but Mum made sure to read the handbook thoroughly before letting me come here." She and Draco chuckled and began to walk back to the school quietly.  
  
"So what kind of relationship did our parents have while they were at Hogwart's?" Draco asked. "Is it as bad as my father says?"  
  
"Worse," Alysia answered with a sigh. "But I don't really want to go into details right now. It's. . .complicated."  
  
Draco nodded. "A lot of things are." He stooped and picked something off of the ground. "But we'll make sense of it." He silently slid something behind her ear. Alysia reached up and pulled out a snow-white flower. She stared at it open mouthed.  
  
"A moonflower! Draco, these are incredibly rare!" she gasped, touching the petals tenderly.  
  
"Huh. Fancy that," he answered, a smile playing on his lips. Alysia didn't even bother to hold back her smile. Moonflowers only bloomed in the late spring, and it was almost December. There was no way the flower could have been growing at this time of year. She had a funny feeling that Draco had planted the flower (no pun intended) at that spot to make it appear that it had been growing there all along. She twirled the flower between her thumb and forefinger thoughtfully.  
  
"Did your father say anything about my father?" she asked suddenly, her voice sounding exceptionally loud as it broke the silence.  
  
Draco shook his head. "No. He kept alluding to him, especially when we were mad at each other, saying stuff like, 'Be grateful I'm not like that girl's father.' But he'd never say it right out."  
  
For once, Alysia felt a stab of gratitude towards Lucius Malfoy, but she wasn't satisfied yet. "What about Professor Snape? He said you talked to him when you were mad at me. . .did he say anything about my father?" she demanded breathlessly.  
  
"Aly, why is this such a big deal? Why are you so worried about me finding out who your father is?" Draco exclaimed, loudly.  
  
"Because. . .because you might not like me anymore if you knew!" Alysia cried back.  
  
"Alysia!" Draco grabbed her by the arms, shouting. "Get it through your damned thick skull: I do not care who your father is! It doesn't matter if your father is the Minister of Magic or Sirius Black!" Alysia winced, hoping that Draco didn't notice. "I don't like you for your father or your mother, I like you for you!"  
  
"Do you really mean that?" Alysia looked at him, her tone softening noticeably. "You don't care who my father is?"  
  
"No, Alysia. I don't care who your father is. You're you." He stopped, realizing what he was saying. "And, I. . ."  
  
Alysia had heard it, too. "So a person's parents and lineage don't matter, then," she said, smiling. "Not even if that person is Muggle-born, poor or a hero."  
  
Draco scowled at the corner she'd backed him into, but Alysia just smiled at him. "It's okay. . .you don't have to admit it. . .yet." She winked at him and started walking again. Hearing Draco running behind her, she turned around, right into his embrace. Before she had a chance to react at all, he had covered her mouth with his own in a kiss more passionate than the one they'd shared in the hospital wing. He had meant to kiss her this time, and he didn't care if she knew it. She leaned into the kiss, putting her arms around his neck, feeling his breath on her cheeks, her neck. When they finally broke, Alysia was breathless and smiling.  
  
"I've been wanting to do that since the beginning of the term," Draco admitted, his arms still around her waist. "Then why didn't you?" Alysia whispered.  
  
"Timing wasn't right."  
  
"It is now?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He kissed her again, briefly, and they headed back up to the school.  
  
By the date of her next Quidditch match, three weeks after the Gryffindor match, the entire school knew about Alysia and Draco. Opinions on the subject were varied. Ron was refusing to have anything to do with Alysia, though Harry and Hermione at least attempted to make friendly overtures. Moira and Susan had, thankfully, stopped bothering Alysia and now simply whispered behind their hands every time she passed. Most of the Slytherins were completely unsure what to make of the situation. Crabbe and Goyle were, naturally, supportive as Alysia suspected they were too stupid to do anything but agree with Draco. Pansy Parkinson, another sixth year with a face like a pug and an enormous crush on Draco, constantly made snide remarks to Alysia, who was fine with it, as long as the hexing didn't start again.  
  
The problem came when Alysia found out that the Quidditch match was against Slytherin.  
  
"Against Slytherin?" Hermione repeated when Alysia told her. "This could get ugly."  
  
"You're telling me!" Alysia replied. She'd sneaked Hermione into the Hufflepuff girls' bedroom, as she needed someone to talk to, someone who wasn't her mother or father. Hermione seemed to be reserving judgment on her and Draco, for now, so Alysia felt comfortable with her. "I don't know what to do!"  
  
"Maybe you'll tie again, like you and Harry did," Hermione suggested.  
  
"Didn't he tell you? We agreed to tie on purpose," Alysia flopped down on her bed backwards. "Somehow, I don't think Draco will be too impressed with that idea."  
  
Hermione smiled gently. "Well, then I guess you'll just have to play your absolute best. No one wants to see a Slytherin victory. . .well, except for the Slytherins of course."  
  
Alysia gave a short laugh. "Do you think Draco will forgive me for winning?" she asked, jokingly. "But to completely change the subject, has Ron said anything positive about me in the last three weeks?"  
  
"Not really. He mostly just avoids talking to you. Don't worry. . .he'll get over it. He thinks you're 'fraternizing with the enemy'. . .which is his way of saying that he's jealous." Hermione suddenly dropped her gaze and blushed. Alysia had a good idea of what was wrong.  
  
"You know, Hermione, I think you and Ron would make a wonderful couple," she stated, smiling broadly.  
  
Now Hermione's whole face had gone red. She looked at Alysia bitterly. "Try telling him that!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Hermione, the boy adores you. I'll bet you ten galleons that you two will go on a date before next year," Alysia announced, sitting up again and regarding Hermione with a smile. Hermione looked at her for a moment, very seriously.  
  
"All right," she said quietly. "I'll take that bet. And I'll bet you five of sickles and knuts that I will have a horrible time."  
  
Alysia laughed again. "Alright. It's a deal!" She shook Hermione's hand heartily, and the two headed down to the banquet hall for supper.  
  
The next morning dawned cold and raw, exactly the worst kind of Quidditch weather. By the time she'd flown out over the Quidditch pitch, Alysia's fingers were numb and red-raw. Looking across the pitch at Draco, perched atop an old Nimbus 2001, she noticed that he was warming his hands by rubbing them together and blowing on them. He gave her a cocky smile as the balls were released and the game began.  
  
Only a few minutes into the game, Slytherin was ahead by twenty points. Alysia's ears had gone numb and she could barely see. She was shivering, her teeth were chattering, and her hands were so cold that she could barely keep hold on the broom, let alone catch the Snitch if it ever appeared. She wasn't sure, but everyone else looked pretty miserable as well. Draco was huddled on his broom as if trying to keep warm, and already, two of the Hufflepuff Chasers had landed and were heading to the hospital wing to warm up. Everything from the commentating to the cheers of the crowd was dull, as if coming from far away.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a whirring near her ear. Without thinking, she reached up and grabbed the Snitch from the air, not daring to move or breathe, lest the Snitch escape her grasp. She thought she heard Sydney Jordan say something about the Snitch being caught and this being the shortest game of Quidditch ever, but she was too cold to do anything but shiver and grip her broom and the Snitch. By the time she'd landed, her fingers were too stiff to let go of the Snitch or her broom, so she just walked gingerly to the hospital wing with the rest of the players. Madam Pomfrey was performing warming spells on the entire Slytherin team already, and clucked over Alysia as she warmed her fingers. Draco shuffled over moments later.  
  
"Jude's trying to call for a rematch," he stated colorlessly, rubbing his hands together. "But by the time we'd play, the weather would be so cold that we'd get frostbite five minutes into the game. I'm glad you caught the Snitch when you did. . .I'd stopped caring at that point."  
  
Alysia's teeth had just stopped chattering. "Really? So you're not mad that you lost?"  
  
"Annoyed, but not mad. You probably saved all of us from freezing to death. Though a rematch isn't completely out of the question. You warmed up yet?" He put an arm around her shoulders.  
  
"Getting there," she admitted, spotting her mother walking towards her.  
  
"Thank heavens you finished that game when you did," her mother greeted her with a hug. "Are you two alright?"  
  
"Yes, Mum. We're fine," Alysia answered automatically.  
  
"Good. Draco, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Aly alone." Anaral's tone didn't leaven any room for argument. Draco scowled, but still planted a kiss on Alysia's temple and left the room. Anaral stared after him. "Things seem to be going rather well for you two."  
  
"They are, Mum. Please don't get angry about this. Draco isn't his father," Alysia began, but her mother put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.  
  
"Sweetie, I'm happy for you. Really." Anaral smiled. "You're happier than you've ever been, and that makes me happy."  
  
"Oh. . .good," Alysia answered, feeling as confused as she must've looked. "What is it then?"  
  
"Are you afraid of being hexed again?" Anaral's question cut straight to the bone. Alysia felt her stomach fill with lead at the memories that surfaced so quickly. She looked away.  
  
"Yes. I am," she finally admitted, breathlessly.  
  
"Is that why no one knows who you are?" Anaral continued the piercing questions. Alysia shrugged, not answering. "Aly, you can't keep hiding like this."  
  
"Yes I can," Alysia muttered. "No one seems to care that I don't talk about Dad. They all probably assume that he died in some horrid accident or something."  
  
"Alright. As long as you're happy, sweetie, whatever you do is fine. But remember. . .you're not helping yourself any by locking people out. Just because you were hurt once doesn't mean you'll be hurt again." Anaral kissed Alysia on the forehead. "I love you, Baby Girl. Get some rest."  
  
Alysia complied, lying down as she watched her mother leave. Moments later, she fell sound asleep, her body warmed perfectly.  
  
It felt like only seconds, but must have been hours later when she awoke. Long shadows had fallen across the hospital wing, and it would have been very peaceful if not for the screams out in the hallway. Alysia became acutely aware that something was very wrong. The other students in the hospital wing seemed to have noticed it as well and were trying to sit up in bed or leave the room. Madam Pomfrey was having a difficult time keeping them all in their beds. Before Alysia could even begin to leave her bed, however, the door burst open and people started flooding in, wailing and crying. Alysia began to sit up to get a better look when someone unexpectedly covered her mouth and nose with a cloth. As dizziness and sleepiness washed over her, she heard someone whisper in her ear.  
  
"Now you'll be safe."  
  
A/N: So where is Alysia going and who is taking her there? Keep reading more to find out. Thanks for all feedback. . .keep leaving it, it's very encouraging! Also, look for some new characters next chapter. 


	8. Prisoner of Love

Chapter Eight: Prisoner of Love  
  
"Do you know who she is?"  
  
"No. Do you?"  
  
"I think Draco brought her home, but I'm not sure."  
  
"She's so beautiful. Did our mother look like that?"  
  
"I don't remember. Maybe."  
  
"She looks like an angel."  
  
Alysia couldn't place the children's voices talking around her. Her head was painfully heavy and she was having trouble opening her eyes. When she finally did, she was astonished to see two small children standing next to her. Both had black hair and black eyes with pale skin and pointed faces. They looked amazingly like Draco, though their clothes were ragged and torn.  
  
She moved slightly and became aware of her surroundings. It seemed she was in a room in a castle. She was lying on an amazingly soft bed, draped with blue blankets and linens. Pale light streamed in through a window across the room, which was otherwise quite dark. A smell like dried lavender reached her nose. She had no idea where she was.  
  
"Where am I?" she asked the children standing beside her bed.  
  
The little boy spoke up. "In the Malfoy Castle."  
  
"What?" Alysia sat bolt upright. "How did I get here?"  
  
"Draco brought you," the little girl answered. "He told us to watch you and make sure you weren't too frightened when you woke up."  
  
Alysia wasn't quite sure how to respond. "Did he say why he brought me here?" she wondered aloud, having a vague recollection of screaming and a cloth being pressed over her mouth and nose. Both children shook their heads silently, still staring at her. Alysia leaned back on the mountain of pillows behind her and looked at her hands thoughtfully. It seemed that Draco had brought her to his house as a result of whatever had happened the night before. A sudden thought struck her.  
  
"Does Lucius know I'm here?" she exclaimed. The children again shook their heads.  
  
"Draco brought you here because Uncle Lucius never comes to this part of the house. That's why we're here, too," the little boy explained.  
  
"Uncle Lucius doesn't like us very much," the little girl added, tugging on a strand of her hair. "But Aunt Narcissa thinks that we should stay."  
  
Draco's mother. Alysia had never met the woman, but she had a feeling that she would, soon. Still, the thought of meeting Narcissa Malfoy seemed far more appealing than the thought of having another encounter with Lucius. She turned and looked at the children.  
  
"Who are you?" she finally asked. The little boy spoke up.  
  
"My name's Griffin and that's Zel. We're twins," he explained. "Our mother was Aunt Narcissa's sister. . .we don't have a father."  
  
"Was?" Alysia looked to Zel questioningly.  
  
"Our mother is dead," Zel answered the silent question. "She died two years ago. We were only three."  
  
"Uncle Lucius didn't want us here because our father was a Muggle and he left our mother when he found out that she was a witch. But Aunt Narcissa felt bad for us, so she let us stay here in the West Wing. Draco knows we're here, too," Griffin finished. "Are you an angel?"  
  
Alysia felt a laugh bubbling up. "No. I'm not," she answered.  
  
"But Draco said you were!" Zel exclaimed. "He said you were an angel of beauty."  
  
Now Alysia felt herself blushing. She was about to say something when the door to her room creaked open. A very beautiful and tall woman with blonde hair swept in, wearing very expensive robes. Griffin and Zel ran to her, calling, "Aunt Narcissa! Aunt Narcissa! Alysia is awake!"  
  
"So I see. Sneak very quietly down to the kitchen and see if you can bring up some hot soup for Alysia. Your uncle is home," Narcissa told them gently. Griffin and Zel nodded at her, wide-eyed and slipped through the door quietly. Narcissa slowly walked over to Alysia's bed.  
  
"So," she began, "I finally meet the young lady who my son calls marvelous and my husband calls a demon. Which are you?"  
  
Alysia blinked. "I daresay I am neither marvelous nor a demon, though I must tell you that your husband is a fool and the most horrible man I have ever met."  
  
For a moment, Alysia was terrified that Narcissa was going to start yelling, but she simply nodded her head. "You're right, of course," she finally stated. "I know my husband is a fool and a terrible man. My son, however," she stared hard at Alysia, "is not."  
  
"No!" Alysia exclaimed. "He's wonderful! Your son is amazing!"  
  
Narcissa laughed gently. "It's alright, my dear. You aren't being accused of anything. As long as you promise to remain here in the West Wing, you are safe in this castle."  
  
"Thank you, ma'am," Alysia answered quietly, when the pad of soft footsteps announced the return of Griffin and Zel. Narcissa turned and smiled at them.  
  
"I will leave you here with Griffin and Zel. When you've woken up some, you may feel free to explore this wing of the castle, but do not go downstairs under any circumstances. My husband does not know you are here. . .no one does. If you are found here, it will look terrible for my husband and family. Therefore, Alysia, I must insist that you stay up here." With that, Narcissa marched out of the room. Alysia heard her footsteps go down a set of stairs and turned once again to look at Griffin and Zel.  
  
"Your uncle doesn't like very much, does he?" she queried, taking the bowl of hot soup that Zel handed her.  
  
"No. Draco didn't used to, either, until we moved in," Griffin answered. "Now he's much nicer. Especially this year."  
  
"Why especially this year?" The broth was good and kept dribbling down her chin as she ate. Zel giggled.  
  
"Because he said he met an angel. He's going to be home this weekend. . .it's Aunt Narcissa's birthday," she explained.  
  
"Look at this!" Griffin was now sitting on Alysia's bed. He shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of her face. The headline read, "Student Missing-Thought to be the Work of Death Eaters."  
  
"Oh no!" Alysia dropped the now empty bowl and grabbed the paper from Griffin. She read the article silently, feeling as if someone had just punched her in the stomach.  
  
"Last night, in the chaos surrounding what appears to have been a diversionary attack on Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sixth- year Alysia Karadhras, daughter of Anaral Karadhras and convicted felon Sirius Black, disappeared from the Hospital Wing. There were no eyewitnesses.  
  
Since the beginning of the term, Hogwart's has been attacked by various trans-species creatures, including what appears to be a rebirthed minotaur. Last night's attack was of a different nature as the halls outside of the hospital wing were set ablaze by a baby dragon let loose in the castle. Authorities suggest that this dragon was set loose simply to distract the faculty and students from keeping watch over Alysia, who, along with her family, has long been a target of the followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named. They are also often targets of vandalism and attack because of their association with Sirius Black.  
  
When asked about the attack and kidnapping of her daughter, Anaral Karadhras had no comment, and was last seen going into her office with a large black dog. Alysia's friends explain that this dog is a family pet, known as 'Blackie'.  
  
Alysia has also made a few unlikely friendships at Hogwart's, the first being with the infamous Harry Potter. One may find this odd as her father played a large role in the death of young Mr. Potter's parents. Harry declined to comment at time of interview.  
  
The authorities have no leads on this case. Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Miss Karadhras should contact the Ministry of Magic immediately."  
  
Alysia groaned as she set the paper down. "Well if that isn't the worst thing that's happened to me in a very long time, I don't know what is!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Why?" Zel asked. "What happened?"  
  
Alysia shook her head and rolled over to try and sleep some more. She didn't much feel like leaving her bed at the moment.  
  
It seemed like only moments later when she felt someone's lips against hers. She opened sleepy eyes to see Draco bending over her and felt her lips curl up into a smile. "Why did you kidnap me?" she asked groggily.  
  
"I didn't kidnap you!" he whispered indignantly. "I rescued you."  
  
"Okay, then, why did you rescue me? You've got the whole world worried sick!" Alysia managed to keep her voice down to a whisper as well.  
  
"Because it wasn't a dragon that was burning up the halls. It was. . .well, it sounds odd. It was an echidna," he explained in a hushed tone.  
  
"That's impossible! There was only ever one echidna. . .she lived in Egypt. Right?" Alysia shook her head. "It's just like the minotaur."  
  
"It is." Draco shifted his position a little bit and Alysia could see the moon in the window. "You weren't safe. So I brought you here."  
  
"Draco!" Now Alysia was annoyed. "I was fine. But now you've got the whole world looking for me. They all think I was kidnapped. My mother's terrified something's happened to me. My friends are all worried. I just want to go back to Hogwart's!"  
  
"Not yet!" Draco snapped, his voice suddenly rising above a whisper. "You're not safe there, Alysia. Trust me for once."  
  
"It's kinda hard to trust you, Draco, when you won't tell me what's going on," Alysia answered with an edge in her voice. Draco gave her a half- smile.  
  
"You're a target, Alysia. You and Potter. I don't care about him, but I do care about you," he stated in his old drawl.  
  
"How did you know that I'm a target? Granted, it was in the Daily Prophet today, but how did you know before that?" Alysia's eyes suddenly widened in understanding. "Your father really is a Death Eater, isn't he?"  
  
Draco didn't respond, and Alysia knew she'd touched a nerve. Her tone softened as she asked the question again. "Your father really is a Death Eater, isn't he?"  
  
"Yes, and yours is a convicted murderer," Draco responded, gesturing to the newspaper which lay crumpled on the floor. "I wish you'd told me."  
  
"Can you see why I wouldn't want to?" Alysia retorted. "I don't think I can face school now. The last time this happened, I was getting hexed left and right." Her eyes reflected the pain of the memory. "The worst happened right before I left the play center. The biggest kid there. . .I think he goes to Durmstrang now. . .he somehow got the teacher's wand and used the jellylegs curse on me. I couldn't stand up, so I started crying. The teacher came over and refused to do anything. I'm sure she knew what to do, but she wouldn't do it. She just let me sit there like that for the entire rest of the day. When my mother came to pick me up and saw my condition, she was furious and simply carried me home. When we got back, she reversed it, but I never went back there again."  
  
"Aly. . ." Draco trailed off, smoothing back her hair. "None of that will happen to you. I promise. If anyone tries anything, and I don't care if it's Snape or Crabbe and Goyle, I will personally see to it that whomever did it is fired or expelled."  
  
Alysia looked at him skeptically. "Really?"  
  
"Well. . .maybe just detention. But I would make them pay somehow, Alysia."  
  
She still wasn't sure if he meant it, but she reached up and kissed him anyway. He tasted sweet, like someone who has just eaten something with cinnamon and sugar. When he finally left, she managed to find the strength to get out of the enormous bed and walk over to the closet. Hanging on the door were beautiful deep black robes that looked like they would fit her. She dressed, put on a pair of black boots that also seemed to be for her and stepped out into the hallway.  
  
Things were quite silent. She thought she caught a snatch of haughty laughter from down the stairs and so walked silently past the stairs to explore the halls of the West Wing.  
  
The one hall was long and imposing with vaulted ceilings and gargoyles staring out from around corners. Black curtains hung over whatever windows or mirrors there might have been to give the hallway more light. The only light, in fact, came from the torches that burned dimly every several meters. Alysia shivered. She wasn't sure she liked the West Wing. A hand suddenly touched her side, and she jumped before looking down and realizing it was only Zel. Griffin was, of course, at her side.  
  
"What are you doing?" Zel asked, the torchlight making eerie shadows on her face.  
  
"Exploring. What are you doing?" Alysia shot back for lack of a better answer.  
  
"We're going with you. Uncle Lucius is home so we have to be very quiet," Griffin explained seriously, and then his face lit up. "Do you want to see old pictures of Uncle Lucius at school?"  
  
Lucius had been at school when her parents and godparents and all the people she loved were. Alysia followed Griffin and Zel to a silent room with a single torch lighting up crates upon crates, labeled things like "Old Photos of Narcissa" or "Narcissa and Draco". One caught her eye. In deep black ink it read, "Hogwart's Yearbooks, 1971-1978". She grabbed the torch from the wall and laid it carefully on the floor beside the box. Griffin and Zel followed and knelt beside her as she slowly removed the lid.  
  
A cloud of dust flew into the air and they all stifled their coughs for a moment. Then Alysia pulled out the first yearbook. "Hogwart's Annual, 1971- 1972," she read aloud and opened the cover.  
  
Almost immediately, pictures of her father and his friends were waving at her. They smiled at her from almost every page. She pointed out people she recognized to Griffin and Zel, always choking over the names of Lily and James Potter-her late godparents. Even she was astonished at the similarities between James and Harry. Vague memories of voices and laughter played in the back of her mind, but she ignored them and moved on to the next book.  
  
Here was her mother, Anaral Karadhras. She had not always been so beautiful, Alysia noticed with a laugh. Her mother's hair had been cut short and she had buckteeth. Still, she noticed that in many of the pictures, her father was staring at Anaral admiringly. This yearbook included pictures of Quidditch matches: her father a Beater and James a Catcher.  
  
Before too long, Alysia had reached the fateful fifth yearbook and sure enough, the pictures of Anaral and Sirius were replaced with pictures of Anaral and Lucius, an occasional Sirius in the background looking upset or sullen. There were also more pictures of Lily and James together, always smiling.  
  
"How can so much have gone wrong?" she asked aloud, and Zel put a compassionate hand on her arm.  
  
All too soon, she had reached the seventh and final yearbook. This one proved to be the most interesting of all as it contained little blurbs for all of the graduating seventh-years and special pictures of them that were highly reminiscent of a collection of Gilderoy Lockheart prints she'd seen once.  
  
Her father's blurb was among the first. Next to it was a picture of him stifling a laugh as he pretended to ride on a broomstick. He looked so happy and healthy that Alysia could not help but be sad. She read the blurb aloud for Griffin and Zel.  
  
"Some friends stay with you, no matter where you go. To James, Lily, Remus and Peter, the greatest friends I could ever have dreamed of. The Marauders have taken their final stand at Hogwart's. Also to my sweet Anaral, without whom my marauding would have been meaningless. I love you." Alysia smiled.  
  
"And that's your father?" Griffin asked softly.  
  
"Yes, Griffin. Sirius Black is my father," she answered. Saying it aloud felt odd. She turned a few more pages and came to Lily Evans, who would someday be Lily Potter. Her arms were folded across her chest with one hand reaching up to twirl a strand of red hair around the forefinger.  
  
"My love to Sirius, Remus, Peter and Anaral who didn't care if I was Muggle- born or not. And most especially to my James." Short, sweet and to the point, Alysia noted. Then again, it had to be. Lily's list of activities was written in the tiniest print so that it could all fit on one page. Yes, Alysia determined, that sounded like Lily.  
  
More pages turned and she found Remus Lupin. He was sitting up in a tree and kept leaping down and running closer to the camera. Alysia laughed aloud when she read his blurb. "I would like you all to know that I am indeed a werewolf. And I would like you all to know that I don't give a damn. Thanks to those who did. . .you know who you are." She reached to turn the page and suddenly felt bile rise in her throat. Lucius Malfoy.  
  
He was a spitting image of Draco, sneering and looking down on the cameraperson as if he or she was below Lucius' normal level of association. His blurb was even shorter than Lily's, though without need. "Hail the Pure of Blood," Alysia read softly and Griffin and Zel seemed to understand immediately and helped her turn the page.  
  
Peter Pettigrew and James Potter were on facing pages. Peter looked solemn and serious in his picture. "I haven't caught up with the Marauders yet, but I will someday. . .I swear it. Thanks for being my friends. . .Marauder loyalty forever!" Alysia read in disgust. "Funny, I didn't know forever ended when you decided to join forces with Voldemort."  
  
Griffin and Zel flinched visibly. "Don't say his name!" Zel whispered, looking at Alysia with big, frightened eyes.  
  
"Zel, never forget this: fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself. You don't need to be afraid of him. . .he's nothing but a very bad man with a very bad temper. Like your Uncle Lucius," Alysia explained, trying to soothe Zel.  
  
"But I'm scared of Uncle Lucius!" she exclaimed, and Alysia smiled at her sympathetically.  
  
"Don't be," she ordered, and pointed to James' picture, the spitting image of Harry Potter. He, too, was riding atop a broom, not laughing as her father had, but waving good-naturedly. "There are days and moments to remember, but far too many to count. There are lives to be lived, but far too many to know. Those I know, I love. My beautiful flower, my Lily, you have my love now and forever. Marauder loyalty." Alysia choked. She thought of him writing those words, not knowing that so soon thereafter, he would be dead along with his wife. His son would be living with the world's worst Muggles and his loyal best friend would be imprisoned. She drew in a deep breath and realized that her cheeks were wet. Zel put her hand on Alysia's cheek.  
  
"Don't cry, Alysia. Be happy. . .you're safe," she promised.  
  
"Am I?" she asked dryly.  
  
"Yes," came a drawl from behind her. Draco dropped to his knees beside her and pulled her into his arms. "I may not care about anyone else in this world, but I care about you. You're safe here. I promise. As long as you are my 'prisoner', you are safe."  
  
"Your prisoner," Alysia repeated. "Your prisoner of love."  
  
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A/N: Awww, isn't that kitschy? Sorry, LOL. I'll try to make the next chapter less fluffy. Still not sure if I like Draco, but it might be alright, as long as he keeps reiterating that he doesn't care about anyone else. I hope. . .R/R! 


	9. Through Grey Eyes

Chapter Nine: Through Grey Eyes  
  
Draco Malfoy returned to Hogwart's late on Sunday evening after his mother's birthday with a deep feeling of satisfaction. Alysia was safe at his house; he trusted his mother would look after her and make sure that his father never found her, much as he had never found his young cousins Griffin and Zel. He imagined how Alysia had looked when he left: smiling silently through her full lips, her eyelids fluttering as she dreamed. Yes, she was safe there.  
  
He returned to the Slytherin Common Room, decked in green with green sofas and armchairs. Crabbe and Goyle were staring at him stupidly as he came in. They were more than twice his size, but he was at least ten times smarter than the two of them put together. "What are you staring at?" he snapped as they watched him come in.  
  
"Where were you all weekend?" Goyle asked, sounding more confused and worried than threatening.  
  
"Is that any of your business?" Draco sat sideways on one of the armchairs. The Common Room was strangely quiet for a Sunday night. "Where is everyone?"  
  
"Dunno," Crabbe answered stupidly. "I think the Professors were questioning people about that girl."  
  
"What girl?" Goyle asked, dumfounded.  
  
"You know, the one with the black hair. The one Draco's always hanging around with," Crabbe explained. "Her name's. . .ah. . ."  
  
"Alysia," Draco supplied quietly.  
  
"Yeah, that's it!" Crabbe exclaimed as if Draco had just solved the mystery of the century. The three had known each other for years, and yet Crabbe and Goyle never ceased to amaze Draco with their blatant stupidity. "They think whoever's been attacking the school kidnapped her."  
  
"Oh do they?" Draco asked, nonchalantly, pretending not to care much.  
  
"Yeah. Professor Karadhras is really worried about her," Goyle added. Draco didn't often like teachers, with the exception of Snape, but Professor Karadhras was Alysia's mother and did seem to have an odd sort of relationship with his father. Perhaps he would tell her where Alysia was, to put her mind at ease. It would probably be wise, he decided, but it was better to sleep on it before doing anything.  
  
The next morning dawned gray and damp. It was not yet cold enough for snow, so it was misty and rainy, the kind of day that just makes everything seem so depressed and droopy. Everyone seemed in a bad mood, particularly during double potions that afternoon with Gryffindor. Professor Snape was feeling point-happy and taking away Gryffindor points left and right.  
  
"Now that we are through discussing sleeping draughts and delayed reaction poisons," he stated, giving the Gryffindors an evil eye, "we will begin work on the very potent Polyjuice potion. Can anyone tell me what the Polyjuice potion does?"  
  
Not surprisingly, Mudblood Granger raised her hand, but very surprisingly, so did Ron Weasley. Ron participated in class about as often as Draco himself cared to, so even Professor Snape was taken aback that Ron was volunteering an answer. Silently, he nodded at Weasley, who spoke as clearly and knowledgably as Granger ever did. "Polyjuice Potion, when brewed correctly causes the drinker to take on the appearance of another person," he answered. Professor Snape blinked in surprise. It was the right answer.  
  
"I see you have done your reading, Mr. Weasley," he stated, coldly. "Now, can anyone tell me what is the key ingredient in Polyjuice Potion?"  
  
Granger's hand shot up again, along with Weasley's and even Potter's. Draco rolled his eyes, and noticed that Snape was looking at him. Taking the hint, he raised his hand. "The hair of the person whom you wish to impersonate," he drawled before Professor Snape even called on him.  
  
"Well done, Mr. Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." Draco smiled smugly and glanced at Potter, Weasley and Granger, who were glaring at him poisonously. For the remainder of the class, Professor Snape went through each of the ingredients of the Polyjuice Potion very carefully and specifically. He stated that they would be brewing the potion on Friday. It would be brewed in a watered-down so that the students would only remain in each other's forms for an hour. With that announcement, class was dismissed. As Draco left the dungeon, thinking of how he would most likely owl Alysia that afternoon, he bumped into Potter, making him drop his books.  
  
"Watch where you're going, you stupid git!" Weasley growled.  
  
"What, me? Watch out for the likes of you?" he sneered and began to walk away. Granger suddenly called after him.  
  
"You weren't here this weekend. They're going to want to interview you about Alysia," she stated. "Have you heard from her at all?"  
  
"Why would I tell you, Mudblood, if I had?" Draco snapped, whirling around.  
  
"We're just as worried about her as you are, Malfoy," Potter said quietly.  
  
Well that was just the wrong thing to say. He wasn't about to admit that he was, in fact, worried about Alysia and that he had been ever since the attacks began targeting her as well. If he stated he was not worried, however, he had a funny feeling that he would sound too much like his father for the Gryffindor three's liking. They were all three eyeing him suspiciously as if they knew he was hiding Alysia in the West Wing of his parents' castle. This was a dilemma he had not anticipated. Everyone seemed to be waiting for his response, so rather than say anything he scowled and stormed away. Thinking back on it later, he realized this was probably not the best response, but there was nothing he could do.  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day did him in, however. Professor Karadhras looked as if she hadn't slept at all since Alysia's "disappearance". Without looking up from the papers on her desk, she told them to simply read the chapter on beasts of Northern England and their defenses. She looked very shaky, and finally left the classroom halfway through the period, fleeing to her office behind the classroom. Draco could hear her sobbing inside.  
  
The other Slytherins found it hilariously funny and dissolved into fits of giggles. The Ravenclaws, with whom Slytherin shared this class, looked concerned, but said nothing. The laughter began to escalate. Pansy Parkinson was laughing the loudest.  
  
"Ooh, I hope whatever happens to that girl is nasty and dreadfully painful!" she giggled loudly through her turned up nose. "She's such a horribly ugly thing anyway."  
  
Draco had had enough. He slammed his book shut, stormed over to Pansy's desk and banged his fist down on it, hard. "Enough," he stated. "You're an annoying little pug-nosed git who can only ever dream of being as beautiful as Alysia. In fact, I'll even take that a step further to say that you are uglier than anyone I've ever met, Pansy Parkinson, pureblood or not." Ignoring the way her face crumpled as she burst into tears, Draco swept from the classroom and headed for Alysia's tree by the Forbidden Forest. He blindly climbed to one of the top branches and sat there, staring at the castle without thinking or doing much of anything but breathing.  
  
He must've fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, the tree was shaking so hard that he nearly fell out of it. Holding tightly to a branch, he looked down to see a centauress kicking the tree with her hind hooves. "Would you cut that out?" he shouted. The centauress looked up at him.  
  
"Come down from there," she commanded. Draco blinked at her and dropped lightly from the tree.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"You know the whereabouts of the falcon-girl," the centauress stated colorlessly. Falcon-girl. That must be Alysia.  
  
"Yes," he answered, finally.  
  
"You must tell her mother," the centauress spoke again in her colorless voice. "It is of the utmost importance."  
  
She didn't say anything else, but turned and galloped off into the forest. For a moment, Draco thought of following her and asking her why it was so important. He realized, however, that it was getting dark, and that, moreover, it was a full moon. A howl sounded deep within the forest, and Draco backed away, shaking a bit. If there was anything that scared him, it was a werewolf, and there would be plenty in that forest tonight. Casting one last glance at the centauress' trail, he hurried from the Forest back to the castle. The Main Hall was noisy and crowded-it was suppertime. Draco looked into the Main Hall briefly, and noted that Professor Karadhras was not there, before running to her office and knocking on the door.  
  
"Who is it?" a choked voice called from inside, confirming for Draco that he was doing the right thing.  
  
"Draco Malfoy," he answered, his voice sounding high and nervous. He mentally kicked himself for sounding so stupid.  
  
"Just a minute, Draco," Professor Karadhras called from inside. Moments later, she opened the door. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and she looked nothing short of miserable. "Come in. Have a seat," she invited half- heartedly. Draco came into the office, but refused to sit down. Professor Karadhras sat down behind her desk, and Draco noticed a black dog at her feet, looking thin and forlorn. Alysia had told him about this dog: a gift for her thirteenth birthday named Blackie. He assumed the dog missed Alysia as well, and reached to scratch behind the dog's ears. The beast stood and started growling at him.  
  
"Down, Blackie!" Professor Karadhras ordered and the dog lay back down, eyeing Draco suspiciously. "What can I do for you, Draco?"  
  
"I know where Alysia is," he blurted before thinking. Professor Karadhras stood abruptly and made a motion as if to grab him by the arm, but restrained herself. Blackie, however, was on his feet, looking at Draco intently until Professor Karadhras put a hand on his head.  
  
"Where is she, Draco?" she finally asked in a barely controlled voice.  
  
"I. . .I don't know that I should tell you," Draco replied, suddenly unsure of what else to say. "She's someplace safe, and I don't think her location should become common knowledge, or she may be attacked again."  
  
"Did you take her away?" Professor Karadhras asked, her voice now beginning to tremble.  
  
"I brought her someplace where she will be safe and protected from everyone- even my father," he added as an afterthought. Professor Karadhras was staring hard at him. "Professor, I wouldn't do anything to hurt Alysia, I swear it on everything I know. I care very deeply about her. I know that you think I'll do something to her like whatever my father did to you, but it's simply not true!"  
  
Where had those words come from? Draco clamped his mouth shut before any more emotional outbursts could force themselves out of his soul. Professor Karadhras regarded him seriously.  
  
"Draco, I know that you care about my daughter very much. I believe you when you say that you will not hurt her. But please understand this." She sat down, maintaining eye contact with Draco, giving him the feeling that she was more a peer than a teacher. "Alysia is my daughter, and her well- being is my highest priority. I would sleep easier at night knowing that your words were not simply idle comfort." Draco shot her a confused look. "Tell me where my daughter is."  
  
Should he? She wouldn't tell Dumbledore, would she? He opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly the door burst open. A Hufflepuff second year was standing there, breathless. "Professor! You'd better come to the Main Hall, quick!" he exclaimed. Professor Karadhras stood and nodded to Draco to join her, which he did. They ran there as fast as their legs could carry them, Blackie following. Professor Karadhras stopped short when she reached the Main Hall, and Draco, pushing past her, soon saw why.  
  
Alysia was lying on the Gryffindor table, one arm lying across her stomach and bleeding. She was unconscious and pale as death.  
  
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A/N: I love cliffhangers. But that's beside the point. I was tired of Alysia's perspective, so I tried Draco's perspective. He's a lot more Draco- y in this chapter, I think. And this chapter's so.SHORT! Anyway, give me reviews because I get lonely without them! :) 


	10. The Longest Night

Chapter Ten: The Longest Night  
  
The day's shadows had lengthened and dissolved by the time Madam Pomfrey opened the door to the hospital wing, clucking her tongue like a chicken and shaking her head. "Poor thing, poor, poor thing. . ." she stated. Anaral and Draco jumped up immediately and Blackie raised his head.  
  
"Alysia is going to be alright," Madam Pomfrey stated for the benefit of all who were within hearing range. "I've mended the bones in her arm and given her a sleeping draught. She won't wake up until late tomorrow morning, and that's the way it should be. She'll be able to answer all of your questions at that time, but I don't want you waking her before then. Not even you," she finished, nodding at someone behind the queue. All three turned around to see Professor Dumbledore smiling mildly.  
  
"As I expected and hoped for, Poppy. You've done a fine job. But my business is not with the young Miss Karadhras. It is with the young Mr. Malfoy," Professor Dumbledore turned twinkling eyes on Draco who looked visibly more nervous. Anaral managed a slightly patronizing smile in Draco's direction as he shuffled off after Dumbledore. She subconsciously reached down and scratched behind Blackie's ears.  
  
"Poppy, do you mind if Blackie and I wait in the hospital wing for Alysia to wake up?" Madam Pomfrey nodded and followed Anaral and the black dog inside.  
  
***  
  
Draco followed Professor Dumbledore down long corridors to a grand gargoyle at the end of a hallway. "Fizzing Whizzbee," he told the gargoyle, which moved aside, revealing a staircase. Draco followed Professor Dumbledore up the staircase to what he recognized as the headmaster's office. Decked with paintings of headmasters past (most of whom were sleeping), the office was truly a sight to behold. Draco could only wonder what Professor Dumbledore had to say to him. The old headmaster indicated that Draco should take a seat, which he did, nervously as if sitting on a pincushion. Rather than lecturing him immediately or bombarding him with questions, Professor Dumbledore surprised Draco by offering him a chocolate frog. Draco looked at him strangely.  
  
"You can't very well expect to have a peaceful night with an empty stomach," the old professor explained. "No, then? Very well." He put the chocolate frogs away. Draco looked ready to run at any moment. "You needn't look so terrified."  
  
"I'm not terrified," Draco retorted. "What do you want?"  
  
"I wanted to inquire about your relationship with Miss Karadhras," Professor Dumbledore answered. "What are your feelings towards her?"  
  
Draco blinked, taken aback by Professor Dumbledore's question. "I. . .I care about her very much," he finally answered.  
  
"That much is obvious. Not many persons would kidnap someone for her own safety," Professor Dumbledore stated nonchalantly.  
  
"How did you. . .?"  
  
"At Hogwart's, Mr. Malfoy, walls have ears and eyes," Professor Dumbledore answered. Draco could only stare at him. "My question is with regards to the extent of that care." When Draco didn't respond, Professor Dumbledore looked at him seriously. "You may not realize it now, Mr. Malfoy, but the relationship you have with Miss Karadhras will affect your future, more than you can ever know. Cherish it and nourish it like you would a beloved flower."  
  
"Is that all?" Draco asked, standing.  
  
"Almost." Professor Dumbledore also stood and walked over to a chest of drawers in the corner of the room that Draco hadn't noticed before. He stared at it for a moment, then opened the top drawer and took out a long, slender, black box. Looking at the box with a satisfied smile, he handed it to Draco. "And here is your Christmas present for Miss Karadhras."  
  
Draco gave Professor Dumbledore a questioning look as he opened the box. Inside was a thin silver chain with a single pendant hanging from it. The pendant was simply a silver infinity symbol wrapped around a red and green stone. Draco stared at it in awe.  
  
"What is this?" he finally asked.  
  
"It is called the Unity Amulet. It is several thousand years old," Professor Dumbledore answered, but did not give any other information. "Go ahead. Pick it up." Draco picked the necklace up and watched as the red and green stones began to hum and eventually faded from red and green to blinding white. Soon it was glowing so brightly that he had to drop it back in the box, where the bright whiteness faded back to red and green. Draco was amazed.  
  
"What does it mean?" he asked.  
  
"That is not for you to know yet," Professor Dumbledore replied, smiling at Draco, who looked cross again. He closed the box and put it in his pocket.  
  
"Thank you, sir," he said quietly, and left Professor Dumbledore's office.  
  
***  
  
"I knew that boy would try to hurt her!"  
  
Anaral stared at her husband as he paced by the foot of Alysia's bed. She had just told him what Draco said earlier that afternoon.  
  
"Sirius, I don't think Draco was trying to hurt Alysia. I think he was trying to help her," Anaral pointed out. "He's not his father."  
  
"Why did he kidnap her then?" Sirius hissed.  
  
"He doesn't see it as kidnapping her. He sees it as rescuing her. Especially after the echidna got in that night. . .I understand what he was thinking," Anaral explained. "Can't you?"  
  
Sirius crossed his arms over his chest scowling, but Anaral managed a small smile. "Alysia has a good head on her shoulders. I think we can trust her judgment," she added, walking over to him and taking his hands. "And I don't think Draco is anything at all like Lucius."  
  
"You don't?" he asked. Anaral smiled and shook her head. Sirius leaned forward and kissed her gently. "I love you, and I trust your judgment."  
  
Anaral giggled like a schoolgirl. "I love you, too. I think I'm going to head for the kitchen and see if I can scrounge up some sort of snack. Do you want to come?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "I'd rather stay here. But if you could bring me something back?"  
  
Anaral smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "But to put my mind at ease, be Blackie for now, okay?" she suggested. Sirius complied, turning silently into the large black dog. Still smiling, Anaral slipped out of the hospital wing. She hadn't been gone more than five minutes when Draco Malfoy sauntered into the wing. He froze and backed away upon seeing Blackie.  
  
"Oh. . .hi, Blackie," he chuckled nervously. "Mind if I. . .ah. . .have a seat?" Blackie was glaring at him as he gingerly sat on the chair next to Alysia's bed. He still glanced at the dog warily as he began to talk to the sleeping Alysia.  
  
"Your dog. . .he's pretty protective of you, isn't he?" Draco stated, taking Alysia's hand in his. "My father did this to you. I know he did. But how? I thought you were safe there." He sighed heavily, rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand. "Well, I suppose you're safe now. And sleeping like an angel." He leaned down and kissed her hand. Blackie began to growl, and Draco glanced at him.  
  
"She's a big girl, Blackie. She can take care of herself," he stated. "You needn't growl at me."  
  
Blackie ignored this and growled even more, baring his teeth.  
  
"Alright! You win! No more kissing!" Draco conceded, dropping Alysia's hand. "Did you know her father's Sirius Black? Probably."  
  
Blackie cocked his head at Draco in utter confusion.  
  
"You know, coming from anyone else, I wouldn't believe that man was anything but guilty. But Alysia's not the lying type, you know? If she says it, it must be true," Draco paused, contemplating. "I wonder if he's as great a person as Alysia and her mother are. Did you ever know him?" He laughed. "Not like you can answer me or anything."  
  
On the contrary, Blackie barked and wagged his tail. Draco could have sworn the dog was smiling.  
  
***  
  
Down in the kitchen, Anaral had run into more than just house elves.  
  
"Yes, Alysia will be fine," she assured Harry, Ron and Hermione who, they assured her, were simply hungry for a midnight snack. "If you want, you can come wait in the hospital wing with me and Blackie. She should be waking up by morning."  
  
"If we're not intruding," Hermione nodded, ever polite. Harry and Ron were already on their way.  
  
"Now, I have to warn you," Anaral said in a soft voice as they hurried through the halls, "Draco Malfoy will probably be there. I'll tell him this as well, but there will not be any mudslinging. Understand?"  
  
The three nodded as they approached the hospital wing. It was near midnight already and the hospital wing was silent as death. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed Anaral to Alysia's bed, not sure what to expect. They were more than a little surprised to see a very familiar black dog panting contentedly as Draco Malfoy scratched behind his ears. Draco was watching Alysia for any signs of being awake and looked up only briefly when the four entered the area. Anaral whispered something to him and, though looking malcontent with the idea, he nodded. Planting a light kiss on Alysia's forehead, he swept out of the room before anyone could say anything. The second he was out of hearing range, the dog transformed into a smiling Sirius Black.  
  
"Sometimes, dear," he said, planting a sweet kiss on Anaral's temple, "I love it when you are right." Anaral stifled a laugh and kissed him back on the cheek.  
  
"So do I," she admitted. "What caused this change of heart?"  
  
"Someone thinks very highly of both you and Alysia, and wondered aloud if I was as 'great a person,'" Sirius explained with a laugh. He sobered, looking at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Madam Pomfrey says that she'll be alright. At least physically. . .I don't want to know what kind of emotional damage has been done here."  
  
"Well, at least she's on the mend," Harry commented, trying to keep his voice bright. Hermione looked forlornly at Alysia's arm, still bound to a splint with bright purple strips of cloth.  
  
"Her bones are all mended; the splint's just there to keep her from accidentally hurting it again while they're still new," Anaral explained.  
  
"Did you ever find out where she went?" Ron asked. Anaral pressed her lips together and shook her head. It wasn't a lie, after all-Draco had not told her where he had taken Alysia.  
  
"We think Draco had a hand in it," Hermione announced, the other two nodding.  
  
"What makes you think that?" Sirius sat down in the chair beside Alysia's bed and looked at Hermione quizzically. "I know the four of you haven't ever gotten along that well, but do you really think he'd kidnap someone, especially Alysia?"  
  
"Well. . .yes." Ron was nodding vigorously, as was Hermione, but Harry looked doubtful and finally shook his head.  
  
"No. He may be a slimy git, but Alysia said he cared about her. . .I think she was telling the truth." Harry shrugged. "I could be wrong, but I don't think Draco wants to hurt Alysia."  
  
Ron looked like he was about to protest, but Sirius spoke up again. "I'm inclined to agree with you, Harry. His father may be a Death Eater, but he is not his father."  
  
"Close enough!" Ron exclaimed. "He'd try to kill us if he had the chance!"  
  
"Shh," Anaral said, soothingly. "Now is not the time for this."  
  
***  
  
Draco waited in the hall for the "terrible trio" to leave the hospital wing. He couldn't help wishing they'd never come and interrupted his private time with Alysia-and Blackie. Even so, it gave him time to think. Would he honestly believe Alysia if she told him that her father was innocent? Or would he convince himself that she was simply delusional, that she was denying the facts because she loved her father? Yet Alysia didn't seem the type of person who would let her caring for someone get in the way of the truth. She'd already called him on several very true things that in other relationships had been ignored.  
  
Not ready to accept this fact yet, Draco took the Unity Amulet out of his pocket and stared at it, mesmerized. He had never seen a prettier piece of jewelry, nor one that he wanted Alysia to have more than this. By his calculations, the Christmas Holiday would begin in just a few more days. He wondered if Alysia and her family would be staying at Hogwart's, and if so, should he? It would be the next thing he asked Professor Karadhras. Because, he realized, wherever Alysia was, he wanted to be.  
  
What was it, anyway, that made her so much more special than the rest of the world? Why did he even care? She was the daughter of a Mudblood and a (supposed) murderer. So why her? Why Alysia Karadhras? He was so lost in thought that when the Gryffindor three came sauntering out of the hospital wing, he barely noticed. Seeing them just as they were leaving the area, giving him odd looks. It was too late to make any sort of remark, but, strangely, Draco wasn't in the mood to make any sort of remarks. He just watched them go then stood and made his way back into the hospital wing. Approaching the curtained-off area that held Alysia's bed, he could have sworn he heard Professor Karadhras talking to a man, but when he came in, she was alone with Alysia and Blackie.  
  
"She should be waking up soon, now, Draco," Professor Karadhras said, reassuringly.  
  
"I know," Draco answered. "Professor Karadhras, are you and Alysia going to stay at Hogwart's for the Christmas holiday?"  
  
Professor Karadhras shook her head. "No. We're going home. We have several 'relatives' who spend Christmas with us every year, and I don't think Professor Dumbledore would appreciate all of them here," she laughed. "You're more than welcome to join us if you like."  
  
To Draco, this was both a good and a bad idea. More than anything, he wanted to be with Alysia for Christmas, and yet, at the same time, he had spent the last two Christmases helping Griffin and Zel to celebrate and avoiding his father. A thought occurred to him. Why not bring Griffin and Zel with him to Alysia's house? He was about to open his mouth and ask Professor Karadhras, when Alysia gave a gentle sigh and opened her eyes. "Mmm. . .Draco?" she asked sleepily.  
  
"Aly!" he exclaimed, immediately taking her hand and kissing it. "Are you alright? Who did this?"  
  
She didn't answer, but looked at her mother. "Mum. . .is Dad. . .?" she trailed off and spotted Blackie with a smile and a yawn. "That was a very strong sleeping draught Madam Pomfrey gave me. I feel like I could sleep another week or so!"  
  
"Alysia, sweetheart, what happened?" Professor Karadhras asked, putting her hand on her daughter's shoulder. Blackie whined worriedly.  
  
Alysia's eyes got a faraway look. "Griffin and Zel and I went down to the kitchen to have a midnight snack. They sneaked away when I wasn't looking. Lucius came in and found me."  
  
"Damn him!" Draco shouted, but Professor Karadhras hushed him.  
  
"What happened next, Alysia?"  
  
Alysia furrowed her brow as if it was hard to remember. "He brought me up to a tower. Said that I was a 'valuable commodity.' I didn't ask him what he meant. I didn't need to. He started asking me questions, like if I knew where Dad was and something about some amulet. I didn't know what he was talking about and said so, but he wasn't satisfied. He grabbed my arm and twisted it hard, and he hit me a couple times. I don't remember. I passed out after a while. When I woke up, he was still there, telling me that he'd be bringing me to Voldemort at nightfall. And then he left. I suppose he thought I was trapped."  
  
She sighed heavily. "I knew I had to get out. So I transformed into my falcon form. My wing was broken, so I wasn't sure how I would fly out of there. But I knew I should try. And then. . ." she looked at Draco, "two of your eagle owls reached the window. They said they sensed I was in danger and came to help me escape. I passed out moments after we left. . .and now I am here."  
  
"And you're alright," Professor Karadhras added with a grateful sigh.  
  
"And just in time for Christmas!" Everyone looked up to see Professor Dumbledore smiling at the scene. "Miss Karadhras, you needn't repeat the story of your ordeal for me. I heard it all."  
  
"Is something going to be done this time, Professor, or shall we all sit back and watch?" Professor Karadhras asked, a little coldly.  
  
"Anaral, if there was anything I could do, I would be doing it. Unfortunately, Lucius Malfoy is paying off nearly every person who could send him to Azkaban. Right now, the best I can do is tell you to simply enjoy your Christmas." Professor Karadhras dropped her gaze crossly. "I assume the old crowd will be there?"  
  
Professor Karadhras looked up again. "We're planning on it."  
  
"Send them my best wishes." With that, he was gone. Alysia smiled happily.  
  
"Christmas is nearly here, isn't it?" She stretched her arms over her head. "Oh, I do love Christmas."  
  
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A/N: Finally, I've reached Christmas! I love Christmas. I also love other people's perspectives, but I think it's time for Alysia again. Don't expect much excitement next chapter, unless you consider Christmas to be terribly exciting. We will, however, learn a bit more about how Alysia grew up.  
  
Thanks for the reviews! Keep it up. . .they make me smile! :) 


	11. Happy Christmas!

Chapter Eleven: Happy Christmas!  
  
Alysia was out of the hospital wing by ten o'clock the next morning. She was greeted in Herbology with hugs from Harry, Ron and Hermione, who didn't mince words in telling her how worried they'd been. While they were describing, in detail, their suspicions with regards to her "kidnapping", Alysia simply smiled and tried to pretend that Susan and Moira weren't leaning on their hands, hanging on to every word the four of them said. As they left the class to go to lunch, Alysia decided to do something she'd never done before. She was going to invite Harry, Ron and Hermione and their families to her house for Christmas.  
  
"Harry, I know my mum is expecting you anyway," she stated. "She wants to have a family Christmas. But Ron and Hermione, perhaps you could join us for Christmas dinner?"  
  
"Who else is going to be there?" Ron wanted to know.  
  
"Oh, everyone!" Alysia laughed. "When Dad was taken to Azkaban, all of his and mum's old friends from school started helping us out, giving us money and all that. They always spend Christmas with us. The house is always so crowded and fun. Oh, do come! It'll be such a happy Christmas!"  
  
Ron looked at Hermione and shrugged. "I'll talk to my folks. I'm sure they'd love to do something other than stay home and cook for our dozens of relatives," he stated.  
  
Hermione nodded in agreement. "I'll talk to my parents, too. Hopefully we can come on Christmas Day," she said with a smile.  
  
After lunch, Alysia found herself spending the entirety of double Potions copying notes on Polyjuice Potion (a potion she had been able to produce since she was nine years old) to satisfy the glaring Professor Snape, who obviously didn't think that being "kidnapped" and having one's arm broken were viable excuses for being behind on work. He announced that they would be brewing and testing the Polyjuice Potion that Friday, in a less potent form. This would cause them to only turn into the other person for fifteen minutes, but Alysia was still looking forward to seeing people turned into someone else. Draco was waiting for her outside the dungeon with a kiss when class ended.  
  
"What do you have planned for Christmas?" he asked, ignoring the whispering of Susan and Moira behind them.  
  
"Oh, just going home with my Mum and having the whole gang over; you know, all my 'aunts' and 'uncles'. Very loud and fun," she answered, laughing. "What about you?"  
  
"I haven't decided yet," Draco admitted. "But when I do decide, I promise I'll let you know."  
  
"Good," Alysia smiled.  
  
Thursday passed by very dully. The Quidditch pitch was covered in snow and had been for a week, so there was no practice to worry about. Alysia spent the long afternoon making a list of Christmas gifts she would buy that weekend in Hogsmeade. She also recopied her notes on Polyjuice Potion to ensure that hers would be perfect the next day.  
  
In a surprise move, Professor Snape combined all four houses for the Polyjuice Potion lesson, the term's final. Alysia kept sneaking smiles at Draco (who was grudgingly working with Harry) and waving to Ron and Hermione, sitting behind her. Her partner, Ernie MacMillan, kept her laughing through the entire class, and when they finally drank the Polyjuice Potion at the end of the class, they fell into gales of hysterical laughter at how well they'd turned out. This was a common reaction as everyone started to filter out of the dungeon. Alysia (as Ernie) looked around and saw a very cross-looking Harry in Slytherin robes. She ran up to him and, making sure the Polyjuice Potion hadn't worn off early, asked, "Draco?"  
  
"Yes," Harry's voice said and his face scowled. Alysia-as-Ernie giggled and planted a kiss on Draco-as-Harry's mouth. The entire crowd leaving the dungeon froze and Draco-as-Harry cried, "What the hell is wrong with you?"  
  
Ernie-as-Alysia ran up at that moment. "Don't get your hopes up, Malfoy," he sneered in Alysia's voice. "That's Alysia. I'm Ernie." Draco-as-Harry looked shocked and confused and Alysia-as-Ernie couldn't stop laughing. She was still laughing an hour later when she and Draco, now looking much more themselves, walked through one of the gardens, frosted white with snow.  
  
"Just the thought of what that must have looked like to the rest of the school," Alysia chuckled, and this time Draco laughed with her before dropping a kiss on top of her head. He held her for a moment then spoke over her head.  
  
"Would your Mum be upset if I came for Christmas Day?" he asked.  
  
"Why, no!" Alysia exclaimed happily. She'd been hoping Draco would try to come to her house for Christmas, but she hadn't asked him yet.  
  
"Would she mind if I brought Griffin and Zel?" Draco moved back a step and looked her in the eyes. "I always do something special for them for Christmas. Last year I flew them over Hogwart's on my broom. I'm sure this is something they'd love."  
  
Alysia smiled. "It's perfect! I've been hoping I would see them again. They were awfully inquisitive about my mother and her friends after we looked at your father's yearbooks. Now they can meet them."  
  
Draco smiled at her kindly as they went back inside.  
  
That weekend, most everyone had already gone home for the Christmas holiday. Alysia and her family were leaving on Sunday, her family including Harry. For the time being, however, she was in Hogsmeade, doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Her list of people to shop for was long, and she knew she'd only have this afternoon before Christmas.  
  
Her first stop was in Gladrags, and she had success almost immediately. Just inside the store were beautiful silk scarves that would keep the wearer warm, no matter how cold it was outside. After some debate, Alysia decided to buy a deep blue-and-gold one for her mother, rather than for Hermione or her aunts Arabella Figg or Cassiopeia Fletcher. Alysia had many 'aunts' and 'uncles' who had helped her mother get along while her father was in Azkaban. In the twelve years her father was gone, the number of visitors had dwindled several times, but there were four 'aunts' and 'uncles' who still visited very regularly: Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg and Mundungus and Cassiopeia Fletcher. Those four would be joining her family on Christmas Day, along with Mundungus and Cassiopeia's children Andreah and Andrew. She did some quick mental calculations, finding that with Ron's family and Hermione's family and Draco and his cousins; there would be twenty-two people in her house for Christmas.  
  
"Yikes," she muttered under her breath as she picked up a pair of singing gloves for Arabella. Pink mohair ones, to be exact, Aunt Arabella's favorite. She took a trip to the men's section, briefly, and bought some new robes for Uncle Remus (a deep blue to match his eyes; he always seemed to ruin robes). That done, she paid for the store to magically gift-wrap her purchases (in black velvet with silver snowflakes and silver bows and ribbons). Then it was off to Nubian Novelties for more gifts. This store was far more crowded than Gladrags had been. Witches and wizards of all ages were browsing for stocking stuffers and gifts for their families and friends. Alysia managed to squeeze through the crowd and find a few nice selections. There was a pair of music boxes that played a concerto on violin and cello, so she chose those for Uncle Mundungus and Aunt Cassiopeia. The store was far too stuffy, however, so she made her purchases quickly and hurried out into the street where she spotted her mother.  
  
"Mum!" she called and Anaral waved to her. They made their way to the Three Broomsticks for a break and some butterbeer.  
  
"Have you gotten anything for your father yet?" Anaral asked, sipping her mulled wine. Alysia shook her head.  
  
"No. I saw some good stuff in Nubian Novelties, but nothing that really reached out and grabbed me, you know?" she explained and took a swig of butterbeer that warmed her through and through.  
  
"I'm having a wand custom made for him," Anaral confessed. "Carver Ollivander. . .the wand-maker. . .is an old friend of your father's." She dropped her voice and began speaking in hushed tones. "He's believed in your father's innocence from day one. When I mentioned that your father had wanted a wand, he got to work immediately. This was about six months ago. Last owl I had from him said that the wand would be done in time for Christmas. So my question for you is, would you like to buy him a wand case?"  
  
Alysia nodded enthusiastically. "I saw a nice one in Nubian Novelties. I'll go back and get it now," she answered, standing and collecting her bags. "I'll see you later tonight."  
  
Her mother waved as Alysia left the Three Broomsticks and squeezed back into Nubian Novelties. She made it to the wand cases section and grabbed the mahogany box with the deep red velvet lining before anyone else could grab it. She rushed to the counter and paid for the case, had it gift- wrapped, and dashed off to Flourish & Blott's. There was only one thing needed here: a book she'd seen that Hermione would enjoy. The book was called "Magical Flora that Reaches the Heart," and it had a detailed history of the magical properties and symbols of certain flowers. This, too, was gift-wrapped and Alysia crossed another name off of her list.  
  
She had hoped to find not only Harry and Ron's gifts in Quality Quidditch supplies, but also something for Draco. Sadly, nothing there screamed for her to buy it (except for the socks in the front window, but that was another story) for Draco. For Harry, she bought a full set of Quidditch action figures: two teams, complete with balls, goals and brooms. Feeling a bit evil, she chose a set of figures dressed in red and a set dressed in green. Ron also got some Quidditch figures, but only the seekers for the English and Irish teams.  
  
Breathless and beginning to feel quite exhausted, Alysia hurried to Honeydukes where she filled four sacks with candy for Andreah, Andrew, Griffin and Zel. That done, Alysia realized that it must be nearly nightfall, but also that she couldn't leave Hogsmeade until she bought something for Draco. Nothing looked appealing. She glared at books, sneered at robes and fought back the urge to blow up Quidditch supplies. None of it was special enough, none of it was good enough. Finally, however, something caught her eye, as she was getting ready to leave Hogsmeade and give up altogether. A roadside peddler was advertising gold-grown roses, so Alysia went over to investigate.  
  
"Grown in gold soil, given gold water, and they never die!" the old witch explained. Alysia smiled. This was perfect. The roses were as soft and delicate as regular roses but were made of such pure gold that they were almost transparent.  
  
"How much?" she asked. The cost ended up being ten galleons, but she decided it was well worth it. She paid the woman and carried her belongings back to Hogwart's.  
  
By the time Alysia and her family left on Sunday, a blanket of snow had fallen over Hogwart's making the trip to Hogsmeade Station an adventurous one. But only a few hours later, Alysia saw the house she'd known all her life. On the outside, it was a small Tudor-style cottage that couldn't possibly have had more than three rooms, but on the inside, it not only had three rooms but many more, and a second and third floor. The house had earned the name "Lioness' Cove", after her mother. Very faintly in her memory, Alysia could recall traveling back and forth between the fireplace in the front room of Lioness' Cove and Godric's Hollow. She inhaled sharply, causing Harry to look at her.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked, finally.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. Let's go inside." Alysia led the way in through the front door and through the entry to the front room. She pointed out the important aspects to Harry: the hardwood floors, the great stone fireplace and the old furniture that had belonged to her grandfather. The next room was what was known as the "expanding dining room". Alysia explained it to Harry, "This way, all twenty-two guests on Christmas will be able to eat in one room."  
  
The kitchen, she told him, was nothing special. They had no house elves; in fact, the only thing they did have was cutlery with a nasty temper. She then showed him the ever-closed doors that led to her father's study then chased him down a hallway to the first flight of stairs. She felt like a little girl again, finally having the brother and father she was supposed to have. At the top of the stairs, she gave him the general points of the second floor. "Mum and Dad's room is down the hall to the left. Straight ahead is the playroom and two guest bedrooms. And to the right is the library. There are also bathrooms behind all three bedrooms," she explained, sounding like a tour guide. Then, with hushed footsteps, she led Harry up the wrought iron spiral staircase to the tower that was their bedroom.  
  
"Mum had this all set up for you," she said, gesturing to his side of the room, "and she didn't want to move it all downstairs. I'll put up a curtain tonight, though, so you can have some privacy. We can take it down during the day."  
  
"It's fantastic!" Harry exclaimed, and Alysia agreed. The entire room was decorated in deep blues and greens. They each had a canopy bed made of mahogany and dressers made of the same. The windows were edged with a beautiful window seat that was almost completely covered in enormous pillows. The view was of the garden below, now slowly being covered in enchanting white snow. The blue-green curtains were tied back with golden tassels, and two sofas sat opposite the window seat. Beside the sofas was a pair of mahogany desks with overstuffed armchairs in front of them. Bookshelves were mounted in the walls.  
  
"I'm serious, Aly. It's really great," Harry stated again. Alysia smiled at him.  
  
"Welcome home, brother."  
  
The days leading up to Christmas were filled with decorating, cooking and singing. Alysia and Harry went with Sirius into the woods nearby to find a perfect tree, one that they had to magically shrink to get back to the house. They decorated it with as many ornaments as they could fit and spent the rest of the night singing Christmas carols at the top of their lungs. By the time Alysia put up her stocking on Christmas Eve, she was more than ready for the next morning and the celebrations of the next day.  
  
She was awakened that morning by the sounds of shouting downstairs. At first she panicked, but then she recognized the voices and, shaking Harry awake, ran downstairs and threw her arms around the shabby man who had just fallen out of the fireplace. "Uncle Remus! You're here!" she exclaimed. "You're so early!"  
  
"Had to be. . .couldn't let Arabella beat me this year," he panted, hugging Alysia back. Sure enough, seconds later, a woman who looked like she was aging backwards tumbled through the fireplace. She stood quickly for looking half-ancient and half-twenty-something.  
  
"Damn you, Remus," she muttered in a young voice, brushing soot off of her robes. Her hair was slowly turning from white to mouse brown. "I almost had you beat this year."  
  
"Aunt Arabella!" Alysia decided to stop the imminent banter before it began to get out of hand as it always did. "Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas, Uncle Remus."  
  
"You keep calling me aunt, you'll make me feel old," Arabella stated with a merry wink. Her wrinkles were fading. "I took my last dose of Polyjuice Potion an hour and a half ago, and I am ever so happy to be spending the day without it."  
  
"It'll be hell when you start to take it again," Remus grumbled, walking towards the dining room where Anaral already was, setting out a fabulous breakfast. "Good morning, Ana. Happy Christmas!"  
  
"Happy Christmas, Remus. Happy Christmas, Arabella, I thought I heard your voice. Alysia, did you wake Harry?" Anaral asked, wiping her hands on her apron. Alysia nodded.  
  
"Harry's here? Bless me. . .it's as if things are the way they should have been," Arabella said softly, sitting down in front of a plate heaped high with thick French toast.  
  
"No, Arabella. If things were as they should have been, James and Lily would be here," Remus corrected somberly, but brightened immediately. "So, Alysia, what did you get your favorite uncle for Christmas?"  
  
Alysia rolled her eyes. "First of all, you aren't really my uncle and secondly, there's no way I'm telling you."  
  
More shouts came from the front room and Alysia was ambushed seconds later by her "cousins" Andreah and Andrew Fletcher, fraternal twins with identical brown curls. Her Aunt Cassiopeia followed, trying to make her own brown curls stay in their clip and Uncle Mundungus rubbing a sore spot on his rump.  
  
"Next year, Anaral, I do believe we'll be traveling by broomstick, if that's quite alright with you," he muttered as he gave Anaral a hug. "Happy Christmas. Happy Christmas, Alysia."  
  
"Happy Christmas, Uncle Mundungus. Happy Christmas, Aunt Cassiopeia," Alysia greeted them, hugging everyone. She hid a smile as she spotted a mostly-still-asleep Harry shuffling into the room, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.  
  
"Happy Christmas, Harry!" the whole crowd exclaimed and Harry was soon buried in a flurry of hugs. Alysia was doubled up with laughter at the look on his face. When everyone had finally finished, she patted him on the shoulder.  
  
"You should've gotten up earlier. . .you could've gotten it over with one at a time," she teased. "Happy Christmas. Have some breakfast!"  
  
Breakfast was the traditional French toast and bacon, which Alysia ate so quickly it seemed as if she'd never eat again. Her father came down halfway through breakfast, looking as if he hadn't slept at all, and everyone gave him grief for it. He hardly seemed healthy, Alysia noticed, but decided not to bring it up and ruin Christmas. After breakfast, she and Harry hurried upstairs to get dressed, and before they could hurry downstairs, there was a pounding on their door.  
  
"Happy Christmas!" Ron and Hermione called out, rushing into the room and hugging (the thankfully fully clothed) Alysia and Harry. They were both talking at the same time, so rapidly and loudly that Alysia just laughed and gave up on trying to understand what they were trying to say. Everyone was wearing Muggle clothing, Harry wearing the brand-new clothes Alysia and Anaral had found for him in London: black pants and a gray sweater that made his eyes light up and had reminded Anaral of Lily. Alysia was pleased with her outfit as well, and noticed that she and Hermione were wearing very similar outfits in different colors. Hermione's turtleneck sweater was deep red and her pants black while Alysia's sweater was blue and her skirt a dark charcoal gray. Completing their little group was Ron, begrudgingly wearing his burgundy-and-gold Weasley sweater with a letter "R" on the front. As they slowly made their way downstairs, Alysia began to piece together what they had been trying to say.  
  
Ron's Christmas morning had, as usual, been busy and loud. Only three of his siblings had joined his parents and him on their trip to Lioness' Cove: Fred, George and Ginny. His parents had brought food for everyone, as well as gifts for Harry and Alysia (Ron suspected they were Weasley sweaters). Hermione's parents, on the other hand, were a bit skittish about coming to an entirely wizarding household. She had advised that they bring Muggle artifacts for Ron's father to examine and stated that once they'd all arrived, Ron's father had made her parents feel quite welcome.  
  
Reaching the living room, their talk continued excitedly. Ron was explaining, from his point of view, what it had looked like when Alysia-as- Ernie kissed Draco-as-Harry, and everyone within hearing range was doubled over with laughter.  
  
". . .I don't think I'd ever seen Harry look that disgusted, shocked, frightened and furious at the same time!" Ron laughed, and Alysia was gasping for breath.  
  
"I remember when we made Polyjuice Potion in that class," Fred (or was it George?) recalled. "Snape assumed we didn't do it right, but it seemed he'd forgotten we're twins anyway."  
  
"We had to re-do it later, with different partners. Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. . .couldn't have picked a better two to work with, eh Fred?" George chortled.  
  
"Nope. . .but I don't think the details of that meeting need to be shared with these young ears," Fred answered, devilishly. "Anyway, in the end, we passed."  
  
"In more than one way," George added, and the friends dissolved into gales of laughter. They talked and talked and all too soon, it was time for dinner. Everyone filtered into the dining room, but Alysia noted sadly as she sat that the chair next to hers-the chair reserved for Draco-was empty. Griffin and Zel's chairs on either side of Andreah and Andrew were also empty. Harry noticed this as well and leaned over to Alysia on her other side as they prepared to say grace.  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," Alysia lied. Her father stood at the head of the table with Anaral at his right side and Remus at his left. Before he carved into the turkey, he bowed his head to say grace, yet before he'd even opened his mouth, there was a knock at the door. "Oh please," Alysia whispered as she ran to answer the door and felt a grin spreading widely over her face when she opened it.  
  
"Hey. . .I hope we're not too late," Draco greeted her with a half smile. Griffin and Zel had plastered themselves to his side and were smiling up at Alysia shyly. She wasn't quite sure why seeing them again on Christmas made her cry, but it did. Sobbing happily, she threw her arms around Draco's neck.  
  
"I was afraid you weren't going to make it!" she whispered.  
  
"And miss seeing you on Christmas? Never!" he laughed, kissing the top of her head. Alysia finally let go and gave Griffin and Zel happy hugs then led the crew to the dining room table. Draco froze when he saw her father standing at the head of the table and didn't seem quite sure how to react. For a moment, all conversation ceased as Draco saw, for the first time, the human Sirius Black face-to-face. For that moment Alysia worried that the entire celebration would be ruined. Draco walked slowly over to where her father was standing, looked at him for a minute and finally extended his hand.  
  
"Sirius Black, I presume? My name is Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. "It seems your beautiful daughter has invited me for Christmas."  
  
Sirius shook Draco's hand and suddenly laughed. "And you are most welcome!"  
  
Though Alysia noted that this sentiment was not shared by everyone in the room (Ron, most notably, looked like something foul had walked into the room, and her aunts and uncles looked like they were seeing evil reincarnated), she nearly started crying again in relief. Draco wasn't running for the door or giving Dementors the signal to attack her father, so she assumed that it was safe. She showed him his seat next to her.  
  
"Let us say grace," her father stated when everyone was seated. They all bowed their heads as he blessed the food and finally began to carve the turkey.  
  
As usual, Christmas dinner was loud and fun. As Alysia had hoped, Griffin and Zel got along very well with Andrew and Andreah. Draco remained silent through most of the meal, as Alysia had expected, but whenever she looked in his direction, he didn't appear discontented. In fact, he would smile at her almost happily and squeeze her hand under the table. Despite the fact that most of the other guests were looking at him as if he was the spawn of the devil himself, Alysia decided that inviting Draco to her house for Christmas dinner was the best thing she'd ever done. After the last plate had been magically whisked away to the kitchen and washed, Anaral stood, smiling graciously.  
  
"Let's go open our Christmas gifts, shall we?" she invited. Everyone stood and left the table in a very busy manner, eventually all managing to find seats in the living room within warming distance of the Yule fire. Alysia was cozily snuggled under Draco's arm and next to Harry, who was next to Ron, who was scooting closer to Hermione by the minute. Her father had taken his traditional armchair by the fireplace, and Anaral was standing beside it, directly next to the Christmas tree.  
  
"Is everyone ready?" she asked sweetly and a chorus of "yeses" arose from the crowded room. Anaral snapped her fingers sweetly and immediately, everyone's presents flew to their laps. She counted to three, and in a flurry of paper, the unwrapping began.  
  
Alysia always kept a quill and parchment with her when opening Christmas gifts; otherwise it was very hard to keep track of who gave her what. In the next half an hour, she unwrapped a deep blue set of dress robes from her mother with matching dancing slippers from Aunt Arabella. Her father's gift was a charming music box that would play whatever song she wanted to hear whenever she wanted to hear it. Uncle Remus, who always managed to find something randomly amusing, had pulled through this year with a set of five singing golden rings, belting out "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in five-part harmony. Uncle Mundungus and Aunt Cassiopeia had given their usual broom servicing kit, this one with a new pot of polish and several silver straws to bring more balance to Alysia's Firebolt. For a full five minutes, she and Harry stopped unwrapping gifts to examine the kit while Draco looked over her shoulder.  
  
"Jealous?" she murmured, twirling one of the silver straws between her thumb and forefinger. He kissed the side of her head, gently.  
  
"No. I already have three," he answered.  
  
"Have you opened your gift from the Weasleys yet?"  
  
Draco shook his head, looking listlessly at the package in his lap. "I'm not sure what to say. I've done nothing but insult their family since Day One and they give me a Christmas gift."  
  
Alysia giggled lightly. "Well, it is Christmas, after all. Let's open them at the same time."  
  
They tore into the wrapping paper to find, as Ron had predicted, a pair of Weasley sweaters. Alysia's was blue with a silver letter "A" on the front while Draco's was green with a silver letter "D" on the front. Alysia felt the need to laugh when she looked around the room and realized that everyone had a Weasley sweater, even Griffin and Zel. Still fighting back a giggle, she turned to her gift from Ron: a Quidditch poster of the Chudley Cannons, his favorite Quidditch team (Alysia didn't bother to mention that she preferred the Edinburgh Eagles). Hermione's gift was, to no surprise, a book. The title, "Dreaming Deep" didn't sound very scholarly, but Hermione explained immediately.  
  
"It's ancient fiction by Morgan le Fay, revised for today's reader," she explained. "Not many people know that she was not only a great witch but also a fabulous novelist. This one reminded me of you."  
  
Alysia grinned. "Thanks, Hermione." Opening Harry's gift, she laughed aloud to see that he had purchased two full teams of Quidditch figurines for her in yellow and blue. He, too, was laughing at her gift for him and the irony of the colors each had chosen.  
  
It was then that Draco put his lips close to her ear and whispered that he wanted to give his Christmas gift in private. Alysia nodded and they walked out to the kitchen where sponges were merrily scrubbing away and the broom was singing, "Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly."  
  
"I brought yours out here too," she whispered, handing him the carefully wrapped rose. He seemed to be holding his breath as he drew it from its wrapping, but smiled broadly when he saw what it was.  
  
"A gold-grown rose," he breathed. "Did the vendor tell you this is a sign of everlasting love?"  
  
Alysia wasn't about to admit that she had only learned that fact when he spoke it, so she turned her head and looked down, pretending to be coy. Even so, she couldn't shield her eyes from the bright light emanating from whatever Draco had just pulled from his pocket. It slowly died down, and she stepped closer to inspect what he was holding in his outstretched hand. She caught her breath upon seeing the silver pendant and its red and green stones, now glowing very faintly.  
  
"Oh, Draco. . .it's beautiful!" she whispered.  
  
"You like it?" He stepped around behind her to fasten the necklace around her neck and she nodded. "I hoped you would. It's called the Unity Amulet."  
  
"Where did you get it?" Alysia wanted to know.  
  
"I. . .ah. . .Professor Dumbledore told me to give it you," Draco explained shortly. "I saw it, though, and I knew it was perfect for you."  
  
"Thank you." Alysia turned around in his arms and kissed him.  
  
That night, after all of the guests had gone home and Alysia was lying in bed, touching the Unity Amulet, she heard her parents talking and what sounded like someone crying. Alarmed, she hurried down the stairs and pressed her ear against their bedroom door. She was startled to find that rather than her mother crying, it was her father.  
  
". . . can't believe it, Ana. It's just like right before James and Lily died," her father sobbed. "Three today, alone. I just can't believe it."  
  
"Shh," her mother whispered soothingly. Alysia could picture her father resting his head in her mother's lap. "There's nothing that can be done now. We'll have to tell the children tomorrow morning. . .now that it can't ruin their Christmas."  
  
"They should have been here, Ana. They should have been here," her father repeated over and over again until he could speak no more. There was no question whom he was talking about.  
  
If there was one thing that could always make Alysia cry, it was her father crying. She began to back away, and only heard her mother say one more thing before she ran to her room in tears. "Three Muggle families in one night. . .good God, what next?"  
  
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A/N: Merry Christmas in March! Sorry I couldn't make it a merrier Christmas at the end, but what can I say? This isn't "It's a Wonderful Life". Don't worry. . .things will get happier eventually.  
  
By the way, I absolutely adored the little scene with Polyjuice Potion. It's probably been done before, but I was still laughing while I wrote it. I wish I could squeeze more into this chapter, but it's so darn long already!  
  
So leave me a review while I figure out what's going to happen next. 


	12. Snow in Your Face

bChapter Twelve: Snow in Your Face/b  
  
The Christmas holiday ended a week later, and Sirius and Anaral never did mention the three Muggle families to Harry and Alysia. Alysia often thought of telling her parents what she'd overheard, but whenever the opportunity came, she changed her mind. She didn't mean to show that she was upset by the whole ordeal, but she'd begun biting her nails again-a nervous habit she'd picked up when she was eight years old. She'd become a rather talented liar and covered up her now bitten and cracked nails with gloves or mittens.  
  
Harry, she realized, had never enjoyed such a Christmas holiday. Every day for the rest of the holiday, they played in the snow like children, making magical snow sculptures that bore amazing likenesses to several professors and friends of theirs. As the holiday drew to a close, Harry complained that he didn't want it to end.  
  
"Back again to classes, homework and a school attacked by various manner of beasts. But I think I'd rather do that than play in the snow for the rest of my life," he remarked caustically as they came in the last morning of the holiday, noses red and cheeks flushed.  
  
"Back to seeing our friends and playing Quidditch, as well, in case you've forgotten. I think playing in the snow would be a much better activity with our friends, don't you?" Alysia pointed out, removing her gloves rapidly so Harry didn't see her bitten nails and start asking questions. She subconsciously reached for the Unity Amulet and felt it warm up as it began to glow in her hand.  
  
"True," Harry agreed. They were now out of their wet clothes and sitting in the warm kitchen, sipping butterbeer that warmed them through and through. "Another good thing is that I won't have to listen to your ridiculous snoring another night."  
  
"Snoring!" Alysia exclaimed indignantly. "I do not snore!"  
  
"Oh yes you do, and talk in your sleep as well. I think last night you asked me if I would like to eat an orange with the lion and the lamb," Harry teased, and Alysia laughed.  
  
"I used to talk in my sleep when I was younger. . .when Dad was in Azkaban. It usually means I'm nervous about something," Alysia admitted.  
  
"What are you nervous about now?"  
  
"I don't know." She was lying, and Harry probably knew it, but he didn't press the issue.  
  
They'd agreed to meet up with Ron and Hermione at school the day before classes began. Late that night, they were still awake and packing their trunks, talking about the highlights of the vacation, from their snow sculptures and snowball fights to the arrivals on Christmas morning. It wasn't until two o'clock in the morning that they finally fell asleep. Six hours later, they were sleeping on the earliest train to Hogsmeade station, and by that evening, they were sitting in the library with Ron and Hermione, all talking about the rest of their vacations.  
  
"Bill and Charlie and Percy showed up two days after Christmas. . .so we basically had two Christmases. Bill brought Fleur with him. . .it looks like they're getting along rather well. Mum's expecting grandchildren any day now," Ron chuckled. "But it was a great holiday."  
  
"I would imagine," Hermione answered briefly. "Mine wasn't nearly so much fun. A lot of my relatives have rather archaic notions of what a witch is. . .kind of like your aunt and uncle, Harry. So my parents spent a lot of time explaining the whole notion to them." She sighed. "It really is quite a pain."  
  
"I can think of more painful things. . .like a snowball in your face. Isn't that right, Harry?" Alysia teased, causing everyone to break out in soft laughter. Suddenly, three out of four smiles froze. Alysia followed their gaze to the doorway, where Draco was standing, and jumped up to greet him.  
  
"When did you get here?" she asked after hugging him.  
  
"About an hour ago. I went to the main hall after unpacking, and your mum was there, telling me that you were here. So, naturally, here I am," he smiled. "And here you are. And here they are. . ." He waved his hand nonchalantly at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Looks like we're all here, doesn't it?"  
  
"That it does," Alysia answered with a sigh. "Come on, sit down with us. We're all talking about our holidays."  
  
Draco stiffened. "No. . .I think not. I. . .I'll talk to you later, Aly." And with a kiss on her cheek, he was gone.  
  
"I don't understand him at all," Alysia sighed, returning to her friends. "At times, he seems changed, and just when I think he's decided that he doesn't dislike everyone who isn't like him, he proves me wrong. I don't know that I'll ever get through to him."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Harry suggested, and Alysia smiled at him gratefully. Before anything more could be said, several fourth-year girls came into the library, giggling about something. When they spotted Harry, they giggled even more.  
  
"Wonder what that's all about," Ron commented as Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil came in, also giggling.  
  
"Oh, hello," Lavender giggled, smiling at the four. "I suppose you haven't heard yet."  
  
"Heard what?" Hermione asked.  
  
"About the ball-the Spring Ball!" Parvati answered, twirling around excitedly. "For fourth-years and up. It was your mother's idea, Alysia."  
  
"Was it?" Alysia was not impressed, but the girls nodded vigorously.  
  
"They used to have them every other year when she was here. I think it sounds like a fabulous idea, don't you?" Lavender giggled.  
  
"Fabulous," Ron groaned.  
  
"We'd better go. . .we have a project for Divination due tomorrow. But we wanted to let you know the good news. It's not until April 11, though, so you've got plenty of time to plan. Have a good night!" The girls hurried from the library still giggling.  
  
"Great. Another ball," Harry groaned, and Ron nodded his agreement. Hermione looked thoughtful.  
  
"It could be fun." She was looking pointedly at Ron who was scowling at no one in particular. "Really. None of us are mad at each other this year-so let's just go!"  
  
Alysia shrugged. "Sounds good to me. I guess there was a reason I got that gown for Christmas."  
  
"I guess so."  
  
The first day of classes after the Christmas holiday ended up being as exciting as any. Between a Sasquatch shipped over from America in Care of Magical Creatures and a storm-brewing solution in Potions, Alysia was more than ready to take a nap by that afternoon. Unfortunately, she wasn't allowed any such luck. An overly-exuberant Susan and Moira had positioned themselves on either side of her bed and were talking so quickly that Alysia had to stop them and ask them to repeat themselves.  
  
"We were just wondering who you're going to the ball with. Draco?" Moira asked, shoving her glasses up her nose.  
  
"Does it matter?" Alysia grumbled, rolling over and pulling her pillow over her head.  
  
"Well, not right now, no, but there's a school-wide ice skating party on the lake, and we figured you might want to join," Susan offered. "Draco was looking for you."  
  
"That's nice." Alysia remained snugly under her covers. She heard brief whispers and footsteps that told her Susan and Moira had finally left. Before she could slip back into dreamland, however, a dog's bark nearly made her fall out of bed. She glared down at her father. "What? Can't a girl nap anymore?"  
  
He gave her an endearing look and tugged on the covers, pulling them to the floor. Alysia wrinkled his nose at him and stood up wearily. She pulled on her warm, winter clothes and made her way outside to the lake, where almost the entire school were showing off their ice skating skills. Getting a pair of ice skates from Hagrid, Alysia sat down on a log near the lake, not really wanting to humiliate herself. Draco was soon sitting next to her.  
  
"Don't you want to skate?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know how," Alysia admitted begrudgingly. "And I don't particularly want to make a fool of myself in front of the whole school."  
  
"You won't make a fool of yourself!" Draco laughed loudly, causing several people to turn and look at them. "Look, I'll teach you."  
  
"That's quite alright. I prefer to stay on dry land, if you please," Alysia answered, folding her arms across her chest indignantly. Harry, Ron and Hermione swooshed to a stop right in front of her.  
  
"What's the matter, Aly?" Hermione asked.  
  
"She doesn't know how to skate," Draco supplied, and Alysia gave him a pinch in the arm. "Ouch!"  
  
"We can teach you, you know," Ron pointed out.  
  
"But. . .I. . ." Alysia trailed off and looked at Draco pleadingly.  
  
"Don't look at me! For once, I agree with them," he told her without smiling.  
  
"Come on, Alysia, you'll have so much fun!" Hermione exclaimed, grabbing Alysia's hands and pulling her to her feet. Before she could sit back down, Draco had his arm around her waist on one side and Harry on the other. Hermione shifted her grip to one of Alysia's arms and let Ron take the other. Alysia had no choice but to move with them onto the pond.  
  
"It's just like walking," Draco explained. "Put one foot in front of the other and push off."  
  
"Don't kick your foot out too far behind you. . .you might get someone in the face," Harry cautioned. "That's it. Nice and slow."  
  
"Relax a little. There's no way you can fall with this many of us holding you up," Hermione pointed out.  
  
"Steady now. A little faster." Ron pulled on her arm a little, and Alysia felt laughter bubble up.  
  
They made it around the lake four times before finally deciding to go get some butterbeer from Hagrid's hut. All five of them were laughing merrily, which, to the rest of the school was noticeably odd.  
  
"So are you feeling a bit more confident now, Alysia, or should we still propel you around the lake?" Harry teased and Alysia giggled into her mug.  
  
"I think I can make it on my own, thanks," she replied. "Though I wouldn't be at all opposed to having you all nearby in case I start to fall."  
  
"No problem," Draco replied, kissing her cheek. Then suddenly it was as if everyone became aware of their company. Awkwardness filtered through the air, and the Gryffindor three took a step back away from Draco, who eyed them disdainfully. Alysia stood in the middle, feeling very much like a tug- of-war rope. She looked first at the Gryffindor three and then at Draco.  
  
"Now, see, what I don't understand is how five minutes ago, we were all jolly good friends, and now suddenly, randomly, you all hate each other again!" she exclaimed. "It just makes me so glad I came here instead of telling Mum to ship me off to Beauxbatons or something like that."  
  
"Aly. . ." Draco began, but Alysia put up her hand to silence him.  
  
"For heaven's sake, we're on the same side at the end of the day, so can't you just pretend to like each other for my sake?" she cried. When no one answered, she pulled out her wand, yelled "Accio boots!" and changed and ran into the building in a few minutes flat. Back in her bedroom, she ignored the knocks on the door and simply fell asleep.  
  
"You can't shut out the world forever, you know," a voice said, and Alysia jolted awake, seeing her mother sitting at the foot of her bed.  
  
"Why? How long have I been asleep?" she mumbled, looking out the window at a dark evening.  
  
"About five hours," her mother answered, straightening Alysia's blankets. "Don't you think it would be much easier to confront your problems rather than running from them?"  
  
Alysia groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. "Must you?" her muffled voice asked.  
  
"Yes." Anaral took the pillow from her daughter and held it in her lap. "It's a miserable habit you've developed, Alysia. You don't deal with your problems, you run from them, and they never really get solved."  
  
"Well forgive me for not really wanting to hash things out with them out in the cold," Alysia snapped. "I don't really feel like erasing six years of bad blood between them all myself."  
  
"You might have to, if you want to be with Draco and be friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione," Anaral pointed out. Alysia gave her a poisonous look, and Anaral laughed. "Oh, sweetie, I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but it's what you needed to hear."  
  
Alysia rolled her eyes and grabbed the pillow back from her mother. After hugging it to herself for a quiet moment, she decided to ask her mother about the three Muggle families. "Mum. . .I heard you and Dad talking Christmas night, you know. . .about the three Muggle families." Her mother sighed heavily. "What happened?"  
  
Her mother sighed again. "It was just like before. They were interrupted in the middle of their Christmas Eve celebrations, apparently. No one realized what had happened until someone heard about the strange 'pyrotechnics' on the evening news. And by then it was too late." Anaral traced her finger along the pattern of Alysia's quilt. "Your father received word about it at around midnight. He was up all night contacting people. . .and then up the entire next night again."  
  
"Understandable," Alysia admitted and sighed. "I suppose I should go talk to everyone, shouldn't I?"  
  
"That might be a good idea. Harry, Ron and Hermione were heading for the library, last I saw, and Draco was stalking around the edge of the Dark Forest." Alysia smiled her thanks and ran from the room without even stopping to brush her hair.  
  
Her first stop was the library, and sure enough, the Gryffindor three were there, working on an assignment for Potions that Alysia had yet to begin. Hermione was the first to see her, and she gave a timid smile, nudging the boys. They all looked at her expectantly.  
  
"I just wanted to apologize for running off like that. I should have stayed and talked things over with you guys and Draco," Alysia finally stated. "But I also came to point out that things would be so much easier for all of us if we'd all get over our differences and learn to just. . .well, be friends."  
  
"You seem to forget that the other party in this little incident is a hateful and arrogant. . ." Ron began, but Alysia cut him off.  
  
"Ron, don't you think you're being just as hateful and arrogant by not giving him a chance to see if he's changed at all?" she pointed out. Ron looked sullen. "Believe it or not, we are on the same side."  
  
"What if you're wrong, Aly?" Hermione asked. "What if Draco's just fooling you and trying to fool us into thinking he's 'good' or whatever, so he can get to Harry and. . ."  
  
"That's not going to happen. I'm sure of it," Alysia stated firmly. "Can you please just try to be friends with him? It would mean a lot to me."  
  
The three looked at each other, and Ron looked about ready to say no when Harry spoke up. "For you, Alysia. . .alright." Ron glared at him and Hermione looked unhappy about it, but neither openly protested.  
  
"Great, then!" Alysia exclaimed smiling. "I'm going to go find Draco." She began to hurry out of the library then turned around for a brief second. "Oh and Ron, if you don't ask Hermione to the Spring Ball, I take no responsibility for my actions."  
  
Laughing, she skipped off, not waiting for a response from Ron or Hermione, though she could hear Harry laughing. It didn't take much thought to figure out where Draco would be, and sure enough, Alysia could see him sitting high in "their" tree. She sneaked up to the tree and, barely daring to breathe, slammed her body weight against it, making the tree shake violently. Draco swore and Alysia laughed aloud. "Come down here! I want to talk to you!" she called. She heard him mutter something under his breath and jump down from the tree.  
  
"Well?" he demanded, folding his arms across his chest. Alysia smiled at him hopefully.  
  
"I thought you might want to try to be friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione. . .for my sake." Alysia tried to look her cutest, but Draco only scowled at her. She stopped smiling. "Draco, this is getting ridiculous. You were having a great time with them when we were skating. They really aren't so different from you, you know. No more different than I am."  
  
"You don't understand, Aly. We're. . .well, they're. . ." he tried, but Alysia just glared at him.  
  
"Draco Malfoy, I am sick of hearing the same old lines from you. They aren't any better now than they were when you first tried them," she stated firmly, then softened a bit. "I don't want to choose between you and them." Alysia sighed and leaned back against their tree. "I care about you a lot, Draco. I don't want that to mean sacrificing the only friends I've ever had."  
  
Draco sighed and kicked at the tree. "It's not fair, is it?" he finally asked, and managed a half-hearted smile at Alysia. "Alright. For you, I'll try to get along with them."  
  
"Thank you," Alysia whispered, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. She let go and they began the walk up to the castle. "I don't suppose you've thought much about the Spring Ball, have you?" she asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.  
  
"Actually, I have. And I was wondering, Miss Karadhras, if you would like to come with me?" Draco turned and looked at her hopefully as they entered the castle. The sun was setting, giving the entire place a rosy hue.  
  
"There's nothing I would enjoy more!" Alysia giggled, taking his hand. "Do you suppose we could get a table with Harry, Ron and Hermione?" Draco scowled. "Please?"  
  
He heaved a dramatic sigh. "If we must, we must," he answered and, pinning Alysia against the wall, kissed her. She rested her arms on his shoulders and returned his kiss. His grip around her waist tightened, their breathing quickened, and suddenly, someone cleared his throat nearby. Alysia and Draco opened their eyes to see Professor Snape glaring at them.  
  
"As much as you may enjoy your youthful. . . urges. . .the hallway is not the place for them. Twenty points from Hufflepuff and twenty from Slytherin, and detention for both of you for that. . .exhibition." With that, Professor Snape swept off, leaving Alysia and Draco to laugh hysterically at being caught making out by the Potions master.  
  
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bA/N/b: How exciting! I finally figured out .html! w00t! Anyway, sorry this one took so long, but it is now finished so this story can pick up. Lots of stuff will happen in the next couple of chapters. . .hope you're enjoying yourself!  
  
Keep Reading! 


	13. Snape's Detention

Chapter Thirteen: Snape's Detention  
  
Alysia and Draco made their way down to the dungeon at midnight for their detention with Professor Snape; both still stifling embarrassed laughter at being caught by their Potions professor. While Harry, Ron and Hermione had spent the entire previous day warning Alysia of the horrible detentions Snape concocted, Draco assured her that Snape went easy on Slytherins and that they would probably just spend the entire time having a long conversation.  
  
"He likes to catch up with me from time to time. Don't worry, Aly. He won't make you do anything too harsh either," he assured her as they approached the dungeon. Professor Snape was sitting inside, looking rather annoyed.  
  
"You are late, Ms. Karadhras. Five points from Hufflepuff," he announced, gesturing for the two of them to sit in the front row. "Since I'm in a generous mood this evening, your detention will be to write one roll of parchment on decorum."  
  
Draco flashed Alysia a smile that said, "I told you this would be easy," and they began to write. Fifteen minutes later, Alysia's essay was complete, but Draco was still tapping his quill on the parchment. He finally laid his quill down and looked at Professor Snape inquisitively. "My parents have been wondering about you," he mentioned casually.  
  
"Have they?" Professor Snape asked with a vague interest.  
  
"My mother would like to know when you're next coming to visit," Draco explained. "She mentioned in her last owl that Griffin and Zel have been asking after you as well."  
  
Now Professor Snape looked interested. "And how are they?"  
  
"They're doing really well. I brought them to Alysia's house for Christmas and they haven't been able to stop talking about it since."  
  
"They haven't?" Alysia asked, and Professor Snape sent her a glare.  
  
"I suggest you keep quiet, Ms. Karadhras, unless you want your essay to be lengthened by a page and a half," he ordered. Alysia wanted to protest, but Draco gave her a look telling her not to worry about it. Instead, she glared at Professor Snape and pretended to be still working on her essay.  
  
"At any rate, they loved Alysia's house and her family. I think she reminds them of their mother," Draco explained, leaning back in his chair.  
  
Professor Snape looked at Alysia with a scrutinizing eye, and she scowled at him. "Yes, when she's not making such a fowl face, I can see the resemblance between her and Rosalind."  
  
"Maybe that's why Griffin and Zel are so attached to Alysia. They always want her to come over again, but I can't risk it, what with my father. . ."  
  
"Understandably so. Rosalind was always nervous about visiting Narcissa, knowing that Lucius wasn't very fond of her. If it hadn't been for Narcissa and I, Rosalind would not have lived as long as she did." Professor Snape looked at Alysia, who must have looked as confused as she felt. "Or did you not know, Ms. Karadhras, that Griffin and Zel are my children?"  
  
Alysia nearly fell out of her chair. "What? How. . .?"  
  
"I do not think you want to hear the details of 'how', but suffice it to say that Rosalind and I. . ."  
  
"Wait, I didn't even know this!" Draco seemed indignant. "What happened between you and Aunt Rosalind?"  
  
"As you are well aware, Draco, my family and your mother's family have been close since we were children. Narcissa and Rosalind were my closest childhood friends and that friendship was something none of us outgrew. It was, in fact, through me that your father met your mother, as you will recall that she attended Beauxbatons rather than Hogwart's as your father did," Snape explained patiently.  
  
"I didn't know your mother went to Beauxbatons," Alysia whispered.  
  
"Narcissa Lancrêt. She's French," Draco explained. "Go on, Professor Snape."  
  
"When Rosalind met Stephen, I was completely opposed to whatever might come out of the relationship. Not merely because Stephen was a Muggle, but also because I knew that he came from a strict breed that didn't care for witches, magic or anything of the sort. Rosalind was hiding who she was. I warned her against it and begged her to reconsider. She refused to listen and went ahead with the marriage. I was heartbroken." Snape paused and drew in breath rather sharply, and Alysia suddenly realized that there was more to this professor than met the eye. She dropped her gaze back to the completed essay, pretending to be completely intent on it. Finally, Professor Snape began to speak again.  
  
"I hadn't realized how deeply my feelings for Rosalind ran. And try as I might to ignore them, these feelings did not go away. I began to write to her weekly, then daily. At first, she seemed to consider me a mere acquaintance, then a dear friend. The more she trusted me, the more it pained me to read her letters. She began to divulge the dark secrets of her marriage to me-how she could only practice magic in secret, lest her husband discover. How even the slightest hint of magic would bring upon her a severe and violent beating."  
  
"I never trusted Uncle Stephen. . .but I never thought. . ." Draco trailed off and wrote something down on his parchment. He looked up again. "When did you. . .you know. . ."  
  
"It was about a year before you would start here at Hogwart's. Rosalind's last letter had been desperate. Stephen had broken her arm in their last brawl, and she didn't think she could stand any more. I invited her to come stay with me for a while, under the pretense of staying with her sister. She did and did not mention it to her husband. Needless to say, her visit was memorable."  
  
Alysia blushed and pretended to be terribly interested in her writing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco turn away in an embarrassed manner. "So that was when. . .?" he trailed off.  
  
"No, not quite. Christmastime. A week after the end of the holiday, Rosalind owled me to inform me of her pregnancy. The accident was a month later," Snape paused and looked up, seeming lost in the memory. "I cannot say that I was unhappy with this turn of events. Rosalind was safe and free now. Griffin and Zel were soon born and I was happily preparing to marry the woman of my dreams and raise my children."  
  
Here Snape stopped, and Alysia looked up, dreading what would come next. He breathed deeply and continued. "It was early October, the year Griffin and Zel turned three. I sensed there was something wrong while I was grading papers, but didn't act on my impulse. I should have. That night, your mother owled me to say that Rosalind was dying. I arrived just in time to say good-bye to her, and that was all. She died."  
  
Snape's last statement came out louder than Alysia had expected, and she jumped a little. It had cracked like a whip, and for a moment, everyone in the dungeon felt its sting. Then all was silent as Snape began his tale again in a colorless voice. "Even though it was never confirmed, I knew that Rosalind had died as the result of something Lucius did. She was a pureblood, of course, but he didn't care for her at all. I knew that my children would be next. So I made up a story and told Lucius that they had died. And I convinced Narcissa to hide Griffin and Zel in the West Wing of the castle."  
  
"It's all so much clearer now," Draco muttered. He looked down at his parchment and tagged a period on the end of a sentence. "Here. I'm done." With that, he hurried from the room. Alysia, who had been lost in thought until she saw Draco leave, suddenly snapped back to reality.  
  
"So am I!" she exclaimed. She hurriedly placed her parchment on Snape's desk and ran from the room after Draco.  
  
"I can't believe it," he said at last, when they were well out of hearing range. "Professor Snape is Griffin and Zel's father."  
  
"I know," Alysia breathed. "I wish things were safe for them so they could actually live with their father."  
  
Draco sighed sadly. "I guess I must be just blind that I didn't see how horrible a person my father is before."  
  
Alysia sighed and shook her head. "You love him and look up to him. It's a normal thing," she told him with a shrug.  
  
"Looked up to him," Draco corrected, sighing again. Alysia gave him a small smile and put her arms around his neck.  
  
"It's going to be alright, Draco. I promise you," she told him before kissing him tenderly.  
  
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A/N: Okay, just kidding, I don't know .html code. Go figure.  
  
Anyway, it's a short chapter, yes, but that's okay. Next chapter will be the Spring Ball. . .w00t! Hope you like it. Keep reading! 


	14. A Mournful End to Alysia's Story

Obviously, this story won't work anymore. If you've read Order of the Phoenix, I think you can figure out why.  
  
*growls at J.K. Rowling*  
  
I should've seen this coming, really. I was hoping it was one of the more inconsequential characters who would die-someone whose death wouldn't really affect me or my story. But no. It had to be Sirius. . .my favorite character.  
  
*in the anger stage of mourning*  
  
I could've dealt with the death of Hagrid or Ginny or a Creevey, but this? Grr. It's not cool at all.  
  
Needless to say, Falling Through Glass has come to a sudden and depressing halt. But expect some more from me-I'm probably going to start working on Laurie Lacewing again, some more on Angel of Music, and I've got two new FanFics in the works: a Marauders story (so cliché, I know) and a somewhat secret project that I hope will work really well. We'll see. Expect some of the key players of Falling Through Glass to still be kicking around-we haven't seen the end of Anaral Karadhras, I promise you that, but her story is going to end a little differently than I'd hoped.  
  
Our stories are part of a larger story, dears. Keep Reading!  
  
~Princess~ 


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